It's not the size that matters
by Khalthar
Summary: A Black Yautja Female, A Yautja Male, and a Female US Marine... All are traditional enemies. Now they must overcome seemingly impossible odds and work together and survive, only time will tell if they are successful.
1. Chapter 1

It's Not The Size That Matters.

**Author's notes! **

**_For now, Italics are used when thinking, or when using a non native language. Example Yautja speaking ooman, or ooman speaking Yautja._ Normal font is used when speaking the native language. Example Yautja speaking Yautja, or ooman speaking ooman. This will change in later chapters.**

The Game World. No matter which perspective one chose to take in regards to it, the planet was still an _exceedingly_ dangerous place. This was the one world were where almost all laws and rules were cast aside. It was the one place where Yautja, both large and small, male and female _actively_ hunted each other in addition to those beings who had been brought to this world to be hunted. The one rule which was held inviolate was the injunction against bringing _any_ Hard Meat to the planet. Those who were in orbit or in transit were to remain untouched, but once on the surface, _everyone_ and _everything_ was fair game to be hunted and killed by whatever means one chose to use. This was the world that the Great Yautja named R'ka-thwei was now forced to call home.

She had come to hate this planet over the past four years. She had hidden and quietly watched as even the seemingly most honorable Great Yautja she'd known devolved into a form of dishonorable madness in which the only things that mattered were the trophies that were claimed. But it wasn't just the planet that she hated. What she truly hated were the circumstances that had transpired to place her here. She recalled how she had been so full of pride in having returned from her Kainde Amedha Chiva even though she only had a single scar to show for the five skulls that she had claimed. That pride had turned to ash in her mouth when she discovered that her Bearer had been murdered, while still owing a debt for her place on the vessel. Being unable to collect the debt from her Bearer, those responsible for her transport had immediately demanded a full punishment. Thus, she had been sentenced to live on this world for the remainder of her life.

Four long frightening years. That was how long she had lived here. She knew that the main reason that she hadn't been killed or captured yet, was because of her size. At a full fifteen nok in height, she was a force to be reckoned with. Even though she wasn't counted as being among the largest females of the Great Yautja, she was still taller, heavier, and stronger than the males. Her charcoal black skin was highlighted with a dark golden yellow coloration along her breasts, belly, and upper inner thighs. She no longer had just that one single scar from her Chiva, because here, each day, each hour was a constant struggle to avoid the persistent, grasping claws of The Dark Hunter. Each time she awoke from her sleep, she truly thanked The Dark Hunter for granting her another day of both freedom and life on this planet of misery.

There were some aspects of this planet that she wouldn't have considered to be so bad if she could only take some sort of reprieve from the never ending battle just to stay alive. The need to constantly remain on the move meant that she couldn't even retain any of the numerous trophies that she could have honorably claimed from the countless kills she'd made. Trophies to proclaim her hunting skills, hot meals of freshly cooked stew, and even furs to sleep on were just a _few_ of the things she'd been forced to do without in order to simply _survive_. That didn't even touch on the incredible loneliness she was forced to endure. No comrade to greet her at any time, no friends, or even an acquaintance to speak to or simply pass the time of day with. Instead, it was a ceaseless kill or be killed life, where absolutely _nothing_ could be trusted.

R'ka-thwei shook her head in irritation as she quickly scanned the surrounding branches for any sign of a threat. She could _not_ afford the luxury of thinking about her past life. It no longer mattered what she _used_ to have! What mattered now, was surviving for the next few minutes, and after that, maybe another couple of hours, then, if she were lucky, and The Dark Hunter was with her, perhaps even until nightfall. There were no living creatures in the area, and that meant that she would need to keep moving if she was going to find something to eat this day.

She was about to begin moving downwind, when she caught the fresh scent of a pack of Yaut Hounds. Fortunately they were still upwind, but she had no idea as to whether there were Yautja hunters controlling them or not. Moving quickly and silently as a ghost, she began making her way through the branches. She moved downwind, but at an angle to that she would soon be out of any area that any group of hunters following those hounds might search. It took her several hours to make sure that she was completely out of the area. So that she wouldn't risk being detected by the Yaut Hounds or the hunters who might be following them. Crouched on the thick branch of a tree, she paused to rest for a few moments. Living on this world had taught her to rest when she could, because she might truly need that recovered strength later.

After resting for nearly half an hour, she once again began moving downwind. She knew that for now, she was putting herself at a slight disadvantage in that anything which might wish to hunt her could detect her scent and prepare for her arrival, but that couldn't be helped. She wanted a place where she could be assured of at least some semblance of safety, and that was why she had been moving downwind each day. She knew that sooner or later, she would have to reach a coastal shoreline. Then, with the sea at her back, she would be able to detect the scent of anything approaching her from inland. She had to admit that it wasn't much of a strategy, but it was something, and it was sound. The only problem that she knew of… was getting there.

Almost as soon as she began moving, she heard a soft snuffling noise from below. Looking down, she saw what she thought of as a Spike-hound. She didn't know the true name for the species, but she knew that they were _exceedingly_ dangerous! The lizard like body was about twelve nok in length, with the spike tipped tail being another ten nok. The entire creature was covered in thick and incredibly tough armored scales that even her tremendous strength couldn't penetrate with her spear or wristblades. Then there were hundreds of spines that adorned the back of the beast. Each one was nearly four nok long and very deadly. She knew that those spines were very fragile at the base, so that they would break off in the body of any creature that tried to attack.

R'ka-thwei pulled out her spear, and readied it by locking it into full extension. She felt herself salivating at the thought of the meat she could gain from this beast. She knew from hard learned experience that there were only three places that this creature was vulnerable. The eyes, inside the mouth, and the underside of the bottom jaw. These creatures were tough, fast, and deadly, but they were by far, the most _delicious_ things she'd found on this planet!

She moved silently among the branches until she was in position. Then with a soundless snarl, she dropped to the ground thirty nok below and slammed her spear at the creature's eye. The Dark Hunter was surely with her this day, because her spear had been unerring in its path, and her thrust was true. The deadly blade of her spear plunged straight through the rear left eye of the creature, and right into the brains of the beast. It died without a sound, and without a struggle.

R'ka-thwei was glad of the silence that had accompanied the death of the Spike-hound, because she couldn't tell what else might be lurking nearby that was waiting for a chance to hunt her. She knew all too well, that it would only take one slip, one mistake on her part, and _she_ would become the hunted. Removing her spear, she stabbed it into the ground the clean the blood off it before collapsing it and replacing it in the holster of her left thigh. Acting quickly, she rolled the beast on its left side and using her knife that was made from the tail of a Hard Meat; she worked the tip beneath one of the scales and began the slow process of gutting the creature.

Slitting the belly open was slow going, and the cut was extremely ragged, but once done, she had access to the heart, lungs, and kidneys of the beast. She knew better than to take the liver, which in any predatory species was filled with fatally toxic levels of whichever mineral their blood was based on. She laid the edible organs on the inside of the ribcage and cut out the first of the two stomachs. Turning it inside out, she quickly scraped the inner layer off, and turned it right side out again. Then, she placed her delicacies in that stomach, before cutting out the second. That one, she filled with some of the entrails of the beast. She knew that she'd have to conceal that fact that it wasn't killed by another animal, and removing some of the intestines that _no_ Yautja would dare eat, would go a long way towards doing that. Next, she used her bare hands to break the upper ribs, so she could get to some of the tender and extremely flavorful back meat. That too was stuffed into the stomach that held her next meal. Now there was only one thing left to do. She stood up, and leapt high in the air the come down on the head of the dead beast. The armored sole of her right boot landed right on the two left eyes of the creature and crushed the skull beneath her weight. Then she grabbed the two stomachs and leapt into the branches to get as far away from the scene as she could. She knew that soon, either an animal, or some intelligent being would find this kill, and she wanted to be well away from it when that happened.

She moved swiftly and noiselessly through the middle layer of tree branches, as she resumed her trek downwind. She had traveled about four thousand nok, when she had to stop. R'ka-thwei found herself facing the shore of a bend in a fairly vast river. She stared at it silently for a long while before she spotted a small piece of wood being carried downstream. The river was flowing _downwind_!

R'ka-thwei sincerely thanked The Dark Hunter in her relief after realizing that she could follow this river to the coast. It would be a winding journey, and she had no idea just how long it would take to cross the remainder of the continent, but she knew without any doubts that this river _had_ to empty into the sea! Following it, would mean a constant source of water for her to drink. It would also mean reliable fuel for the micro fusion power cell in her armor. She also realized that this river would provide her with a fairly reliable hunting ground, since all animals would have to drink sooner or later. The only drawback to the river was that the moisture from it would also hold her scent for a _very_ long time.

R'ka-thwei dropped down to the ground and searched carefully until she found a rock that was small enough to fit in the second stomach, but large enough to ensure the result she wanted. Finding such a rock, she stuffed it in the stomach and deftly tied off both ends of it, before dropping it softly in the river. The weight of the rock would ensure that the large stomach and the intestines it contained would sink to the bottom where it would either decay, or be devoured by some type of aquatic creature. Either way, the result was that the stomach and its contents would _not_ serve to give her away.

Leaping back into the lower branches, she began slowly following the river bank. While she traveled at a now much more leisurely pace, she opened the remaining stomach that contained the delicacies she had collected from her kill. A toothsome and delicious kidney was followed by one of the lungs from the beast. Then she indulged in the creature's heart. The thick, slightly tough, and therefore chewy, blood filled, and protein rich but still delectable muscle would serve to give her strength, not to mention that she found it _very_ tasty as well. Pulling out the second lung, she enjoyed the soft tender tissue for the short time that it lasted. The second kidney was savored in much the same fashion. The high amount of nutrients that it contained would help her stay healthy, and while it was quite good raw, she would have given up quite a lot to be able to take the time to warm it over a fire.

As she munched on the large slab of muscle from the back of her kill, she lamented the fact that she simply couldn't take the risk of trying to establish some type of permanent camp. She knew that there were many other Great Yautja on this world. They preferred to hunt in small groups in order to avoid being hunted themselves. They were almost always boastful individuals who had declared themselves to be 'Great Hunters', but she felt that if they were truly great, then they wouldn't be nearly so adamant about hunting in a group.

R'ka-thwei checked the surrounding area carefully before she shut down her cloaking system. She turned her attention to her wrist computer, and checked the power levels in her armor. She saw that the power was holding steady at peak level, but that the fuel reserve was down to one twentieth of full capacity. She had a full two hours of pressure stored oxygen and nitrogen mix in her armor, and that would give her a fair amount of time to allow her fuel cells to refill. She dropped down to the bank of the river in a swift move, before silently entering the water.

It was cool and refreshing against the exposed areas of her skin, and she switched visual modes in her mask to allow her to see through the murky water. Getting to the bottom of the river was no problem, and once there, she abandoned all pretense of stealth and moved as fast as she could. She was glad that her equipment weighed as much as it did, since that allowed her to remain on the bottom with ease. Armored boots and even the claws of her fingers were used to propel her along the bottom at great speed. As far as preferred methods of travel went, this one wasn't even on her list. On the other claw, this method did allow her to move _much_ faster, and cover _far_ more distance without risking detection. It was a tradeoff however, because she couldn't hunt while traveling this way, nor could she be positive that one of the Great Yautja wouldn't detect her once she decided to leave the river. Therefore this was much like anything else on this horrid world with both good points and bad points. To her though, a major good point was that she would be able to cover enough distance in two hours to equal three days of stealthy travel through the tree tops. She allowed herself to entertain thoughts of a possible camp where she could have and keep furs and skins to sleep in, a fire to warm herself and even cook some food, and maybe, just maybe, a place to keep a few choice skulls from her kills.

She moved slowly and carefully so as to avoid creating any ripples in the water as she poked the top of her head just above the surface of the water to look around. She cycled through each of the visual modes in her mask to make sure that there were no threats nearby. Ground, branches, and even the tree tops were carefully checked. She took a deep breath of her now scanty air reserves, and slowly moved onto the river bank. She knew that her cloaking would be completely useless until the system dried out, so she took off at a silent run. She knew that the rush of air, as well as her own elevated body heat would dry the system faster than simply trying to wait it out. So she had a choice, either present a stationary target, or one that was moving fast. She knew that there were several Great Yautja who were actually here to hunt her. She knew this because she had even observed them discussing the best means to capture her, well, if they wanted her, they would have to _catch_ her!

After half an hour of silent running, she was nearing exhaustion. She knew that she had exerted herself far more than normal in her high speed crawling swim along the bottom of the river, and that if she kept going, her breathing would become ragged, noisy, gasps that would give her presence away. She leapt into the branches of a tree, and checked the status of her fuel and air reserves. The fuel had been completely replenished, but it would take another half hour before her air supply would allow another two hour excursion to the bottom of the river. That was fine, since it would give her the chance to rest, and warm up a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

INTSTM 2

Nine days after finding the river, R'ka-thwei crouched on a tree branch, as she gazed out at the vast expanse of the ocean. Nine days of using the river as a means of travel had allowed her to cover more ground than she had during the previous three moons of traveling. She cycled through the visual modes of her mask as she looked up and down the beach. To her left, the beach extended as far as her mask would allow her to see. In the distance to her right, she saw cliffs that extended upwards into mountains with peaks somewhere above the clouds.

When she saw those cliffs, her massive heart began to pound with excitement. Those cliffs and mountains meant a possible cave, and there would be many types of game to hunt. That which dwelled in the forest, the jungle, the mountains, on the shore lines, and even in the sea itself would be available for her to hunt. She might even be able to keep a small collection of trophies from her hunts. This area would mean the beginning of a new way of life on this world, and the seemingly wondrous possibilities available excited her.

Beneath her mask, R'ka-thwei's mandibles began twitching in eager anticipation. That twitch, was the only movement R'ka-thwei allowed herself, as she thoroughly examined her surroundings with careful determination. She was not going to allow herself to make even the slightest mistake. Not now; not when she was so close to being able to make some semblance of a home for herself. She knew that it would take a while for her cloaking system to dry out, and she was determined not to move unless she had to, until that happened. Once her cloaking system did dry out, however, she was on the move. She headed straight towards the cliffs that ended in the ocean.

It took her six days of careful searching to find a cave that would suit her needs. She had found literally _dozens_ of caves, but most were either too small, too large, had too many openings, or were too exposed. The one she finally settled on, opened in only one direction, and that was towards the sea. There were two rocky ledges a short distance beneath the opening; with the first being perhaps two nok below the level of low tide, and the other about a nok and a half below the high tide. That was perfect since it meant that the rocky path to it was concealed by constantly moving water which would cover any possible tracks. Even though the height of the entrance meant that during low tide, she would have to jump close to seventeen nok high to get into the cave.

The somewhat small and narrow entrance was more of a long and slightly winding tunnel that opened into a nicely sized chamber after a distance of about thirty nok. The chamber was much longer than it was wide, and high enough that she could easily stretch while standing without quite touching the roof of the cave. The very back of the cave had several nooks about four nok wide, and the one on the right side of the cave was almost below an over head channel that led back outside at a higher altitude. It was almost a perfect place for a fire as it was, but she knew that it would need some work to get it right. The entire cave would need a lot of work, but once done, it would be more than merely suitable. As she looked around, R'ka-thwei knew that she could actually make a livable home here. A home that she would need to last her the rest of her life.

On the first few days in her new home, R'ka-thwei spent many hours using both her wrist blade, and the armored glove in her right wrist unit to level the floor, smooth down the walls, and otherwise modify the cave to suit her needs. The nook that she'd decided to use as a fireplace was widened so that one end was directly beneath the upper channel that would serve as a vent for smoke and fumes. A slight depression in the floor of the cave near the right hand wall was smoothed out and enlarged so that she could line it with skins and furs for a bed. Ledges, and ripples in the walls of the cave were reworked to become shelves and hollows for items that would one day be placed there. Nooks and crannies in the walls were enlarged to make cubby holes to hold things. At times, the work was slow going, because she needed to conceal any and all traces of her presence in the area. That was why all of the detritus was hurled far out into the ocean to vanish forever beneath the ceaseless waves.

It was while she was using the inertial magnification system in her armored glove that it happened. She had been enlarging a depression in the rock wall so she would have a spot for a particularly prized trophy that was just waiting to be hunted. Thoughts of how several different skulls would look in that spot floated in her mind, when her armored fist crashed completely through the cave wall. R'ka-thwei stared at it stupidly for several minutes while her disbelieving mind tried to comprehend what had happened. Once she did realize what had occurred, she began slamming her armored fist into the wall angrily. Frustration was evident in her every move, as she continued to widen the hole so she could see what was on the other side. She was positive that this would make her nearly perfect cave unusable now. If this hole led outside in any way, then she would have to abandon this cave and try to find another one. She had put too much work into this cave to just give up on it, and that was why she was quickly knocking away the surrounding rock so she could see what was on the other side. When she finally had an opening large enough for her to peer through, R'ka-thwei stuck her head in, and looked around.

R'ka-thwei stared at the chamber in relief. There was no exit to it that she needed to be concerned about. Seeing this, she took a closer look at what was there. This chamber which had remained sealed since its formation had been caused by an underground stream. There was a fairly large pool of water over on one side where a small but steady stream of water flowed constantly. She couldn't see where the water was draining but she knew it was since the level of the pool never rose. Suddenly her mandibles hit the inside of her mask as they went slack. She was as stunned as if someone had just knocked her silly when she realized how this particular chamber could be used.

As soon as the possibilities registered in her mind, R'ka-thwei was using her armored fist with renewed vigor as she began relentlessly pounding at the cavern wall. Chips, shards, and chunks of rock were literally flying as she began tearing the wall of the cavern out by brute force. After more than an hour of smashing, tearing, and slicing at the rocky cavern wall, she stopped and looked at the result. She would have to really crouch low to enter this little antechamber, but once a fire was added, it would serve well as both a bathing room, and a steam room. Plus it was also a source of fresh water, which meant that she wouldn't need to go all the way back to the river to obtain something to drink.

The next four days were spent setting up the cave to become her living quarters. A pair of frames made from the spines of a Spike-hound held the thick heavily armored scaled skins of the beasts to serve as a pair of doors for her cave. The first was set a fair distance back in the low narrow tunnel to function as a main door, while the other served as a door to her new steam room. She hadn't gathered any furs yet, so she was still sleeping on the rock floor of the cave, but now that she needed to go hunting soon, she planned to specifically go after creatures that had a decent coat on them. Four years of sleeping exposed on tree branches with no furs to lie on, or even cover herself with leaves was more than long enough, and she planned to correct that little discomfort.

She left her cave by climbing up the face of the four hundred nok high cliff, because she could maintain her cloak while doing so. Although she rarely used the cliff to either enter or leave her cave, she did so this time only because she knew that she would be hunting in the mountains where there would be more fur bearing creatures. Going back however, she knew that she would wade slowly through the water until she was right below her cave. That way, both she and any burden she might be carrying would be concealed right up until she left the water.

After scaling the cliff, she began making her way up the hills and into the actual mountains. Moving slowly and quietly, R'ka-thwei stalked between the short trees that were far too small to hold her weight. During her scouting trips, she had seen some _very_ large beasts grazing not too far below the snow line of these mountains, and that was what she was now after. It took several hours of ranging near the snow line to spot one of the massive beasts, and even though she had no idea what it was called, she knew that it couldn't be anything _but_ dangerous!

If there were any pieces of reliable information that was truly known about this world, it was that _all_ of the life forms on it had been imported by both the Yautja and the Great Yautja over countless generations and eons. Plant life had been selected to provide the maximum amount of oxygen, and nutrition for thousands of creatures long before those creatures had ever been brought here. There was supposedly even a continent that sustained creatures which could be found nowhere else in the universe because they had long ago gone extinct on their native worlds. It was also known that most of the creatures had been genetically treated to halt any evolutionary progress in order to maintain the desired level of danger and aggression. Other creatures had been altered to make them even more dangerous by causing them to become larger and stronger. This was a world on which even a vast majority of the insects were dangerous in that most of them possessed various toxins that could be deadly in even small amounts. The only aspect of this world that could be remotely considered safe was that the fruits, vegetables, and plants were intended to be edible by the massive and dangerous herbivores that now inhabited this planet.

As soon as she spotted the massive beast, R'ka-thwei moved so that she was down wind of it. As huge as this creature was, she did _not_ want to risk getting trampled by it! Although she had no idea what it was, it would not have surprised her in the slightest to learn that the creature was an oversized version of the Woolly Mammoth from a planet now called Earth by the natives. At more than twenty nok in height at the shoulder, it was more than _double_ the height that it had ever reached on its own world. Massive tusks that were as long as the beast was tall, jutted forward from the creature's mouth, and were used for both clearing snow, and as weapons for defense. This would _not_ be an easy kill.

Creeping forward as close as she dared, R'ka-thwei readied her combi-stick to use as a spear against the creature. She moved closer, and slowly stood to adjust her grip for the throw. So great was her effort, that she unknowingly released a soft grunt of strain. That sound was all that was needed for the huge beast to move its head. Instead of penetrating through the eye as she had intended, her spear struck in the center of the creature's forehead, at the base of that long prehensile nose. The great beast roared in a mixture of rage and pain as it turned and charged at the source of the strange sound.

Seeing that her cast had gone awry, and that she was now the hunted, R'ka-thwei's blood ran cold. At first, she turned and tried to run for it, but she heard the beast gaining on her rapidly. Trees were shoved carelessly to the side or knocked down entirely by the raging charge of the beast. The enraged roaring of the beast was so loud that she could feel it in her very bones. Knowing that she had no other option but to stand and fight it out, she turned and readied an al'Nagara in her right hand. Flipping the long bladed sword end for end, so that she now held the blade in a position to throw it, she waited. Then the moment was right, she hurled her sword with every ounce of strength she had, grunting savagely with the strain. The bladed weapon twirled through the air to impact a mere nok below her spear. R'ka-thwei gaped in stunned disbelief as the massive beast continued to charge straight at her! She was certain that her blade would have penetrated far enough into the skull of the beast to hit the brain, but apparently she was wrong. With no time for another try, she turned with every intention of abandoning stealth completely and simply running for her life.

She had taken no more than three dozen steps when a loud crash caused her to glance behind her. The massive beast was sliding forward along the ground as its momentum kept it going for several nok. When it finally stopped sliding, she saw that there was no movement. Hesitantly she stepped towards it. Then, she saw that the creature wasn't even breathing. Cautiously, she moved closer, and then she suddenly lunged forward to shove the embedded blade of her sword deeper into the head of the beast. She pulled both of her weapons out with slightly shaking hands, and stared in awe at what she had accomplished. By far this was the single _largest_ beast she had ever killed. She took a moment to steady herself and calm her pounding heart, before she walked around the creature to admire it. The huge beast was covered in a massively thick coat that was about a full nok in length, and she didn't even _try_ to resist the sudden impulse to run her fingers through it. Beneath her mask, her mandibles spread into a very pleased grin as she thought of how comfortable such a lusciously thick fur would be to sleep in. The hide from this kill alone would provide her with several furs in which to make a proper sleeping nest. The only problem that she could see now was that she would have to clean this massive beast, and somehow get it back to her cave.

R'ka-thwei settled to the floor of her cave in exhaustion. Even with her great strength, it had taken her nine trips to retrieve everything that she could use from her kill. She took a few well earned moments of rest, and consulted some of the information on her wrist computer. It was a stroke of the purest luck that she had that information in her possession. It was something that her Bearer had insisted that she keep with her during her Chiva. At the time, she had thought the information useless. After all, what need would she have of information related to cleaning the different types of animals? Why would she need a survival guide that detailed how to build different items and tools? She recalled nearly scoffing at the idea that she might need such things on her Chiva. Now, it was a different story altogether, because though she hadn't needed it then, she most certainly did now.

She closed her eyes and silently thanked the spirit of her Bearer for watching over her enough to have made certain that she'd had such now vital information with her. That block of data had already saved her live once, by letting her know that only the liver of an herbivore could be safely eaten, and that those of a carnivore were to be avoided. It was a piece of information that she would never have known or guessed had she not read it from her wrist computer. That information now let her know that there was a tool in her medical kit that would not only serve to seal the internal tissue damage from deep slashes, but on another setting could be used to preserve a skin. According to the data she was reading, the skin would only last half as long as one made using the regular methods, but for survival, it would work.

Once cleaned, the dome of the skull from the beast became a large pot in which she placed diced pieces of the liver, kidneys, lungs, some of the meat, and water to make a stew. Then she added a large amount of diced fat from the beast for flavor. The heart she quickly spitted to slow roast over the small open fire. While her food started to cook, she began using her wrist blades to make a few spoons from the tusks of the beast. She regretted that she had to lose such worthy trophies in this manner, but she knew that she was going to be here for the rest of her life. She knew that there would be other opportunities to claim such trophies. She easily made several spoons from the tip of one tusk, along with a few bowls and cups from the base of that same tusk. For now, they were rough and crudely made, but she could finish them later. She turned her attention to the seven sections of fur.

By the time she finished sealing the seventh and last section of skin for her bedding, her mouth was watering so badly from the delicious smells of her dinner that she could barely concentrate. This would be the first stew that she had eaten since the day she was condemned to live out her life on this world, and she intended to thoroughly enjoy it. She took her food and sat near the entrance of her cave, so that she was looking out over the ocean as she ate. That was when she realized that the stew itself was a trophy of a sort. It symbolized the start of a new life, a new beginning, and a new home on this world. She now had a cave to provide shelter, a bed lined with real furs instead of leaves, crude but functional dishes to show some semblance of civilization, and even the luxury of a steam bath if she took the time to dump heated rocks in the pool of water in her bathing chamber. She would be the first to admit that it wasn't much, but it was a start.

There were many things that she thought about while she ate. Even though there were no seasonings in her stew, it was the most delectable meal she had eaten since her exile several years earlier. There were many unbidden and soft growls of contented bliss to accompany the sounds made by her chewing. At that moment, it didn't matter that she wasn't sitting at a table listening idly as her Bearer discussed hunting methods. Nor did it matter that the utensils were crudely fashioned. What mattered right then, was that she was alive, and that she was no longer limited to what she could carry with her.

After eating, she removed her armor, weapons, mesh suit, and clothing. She used several lengths of bone that served to divert the water to the exit point so that she now had a large pool of still water. Then, using a couple of lengths of ivory that had been carved for this one specific purpose, she grabbed a large rock that was extremely hot and dropped it in the pool with an angry sounding hiss of steam. That first rock was quickly followed by more than a dozen more. Within moments the water was almost unbearably hot, and R'ka-thwei hissed at the nearly scalding heat as she eased herself into it. Then a long drawn out groan of the purest bliss left her mouth as her mandibles clicked in the pleasure of the first hot bath since she'd been sent to this world. She lay there for a while and soaked in the steaming hot water, as it slowly eased the aches and soothed the stiffness out of her muscles.

Upon getting out of her makeshift tub, R'ka-thwei eyed her grimy, dirty, and unwashed clothing and her mandibles curled in disgust. She would tend to that problem tomorrow. In the meantime, she eased herself down into the soft furs that now lined her bed, and moaned in delight. She pulled one thick and heavy sheet of fur over her and snuggled deeper in to them. Then, she closed her eyes knowing that tonight; she would sleep _much_ better than she had in years!


	3. Chapter 3

INTSTM 3

A single moon after she had found her cave, R'ka-thwei had killed several more Spike-hounds, and had used their tough scaled hides to make some spare outer clothing for her self. The impossibly tough scales had been left on, because while they might not stop a plasma caster, they were more than durable enough to stop the teeth and claws of the creatures that she needed to hunt to survive. Salt gained from sea water that she evaporated by her fire was used to season some of her meat, and all of her meat was stored in the smoke channel above her fire pit. Teeth and claws from various beasts had been made into jewelry. Using her dagger, and a frozen image that had been recorded by her mask, she was painstakingly carving a small statue of the Dark Hunter himself. It was slow work in making it from the largest piece of the second tusk from that huge beast that had come close to killing her, but she felt that it was fitting. After all, she was sure that the Dark Hunter must be watching over her on this world for her to have survived for so long.

All of her people, the Great Yautja, knew that there were the two primary Gods. Lilka; the Goddess of home, health, hearth, and all that was considered good. But there was also Cetanu; the forever and eternally angry God of the battle, the God of war, and rage. But there was a third great being that her people revered. The Dark Hunter, and it was he who was believed to be cold, calculating, and methodical in every way. Completely impartial, and utterly incorruptible; he eventually claimed all. For no matter which of the Gods one followed, it was the Dark Hunter who claimed them all in the end. It was the Dark Hunter who constantly followed and stalked one throughout one's life. It was the Dark Hunter who decided which of the Gods received the soul, and it was the Dark Hunter who passed the final judgment on the soul. Skilled in ways that mortal minds could scarcely imagine, the Dark Hunter was considered to be the truest epitome of Hunting skill that could ever be dreamed of, and it for those reasons and those skills that he was revered.

R'ka-thwei knew that she wasn't gifted in the area of carving, and that was why she was taking her time in doing it. A few minutes each day, a shallow groove here, a small cut there, but the statue was slowly taking shape. Each time she worked on the sculpture, she felt that her little cave was becoming more of a home for her. There were many times however, when her thoughts weren't so pleasant. It was when she thought about why she was here at all, that her thoughts became dark and sinister. Half formed daydreams of somehow finding the culprit that had acted so cowardly in the murder of her Bearer, became thoughts on how she would enjoy slowly skinning them alive as she savored each and every scream. Thoughts of splitting each of their sensitive tendrils in small amounts before severing them a small bit at a time. It would feel as if her very blood burned with the murderous rage that coursed through her mind. She prayed fervently to the Dark Hunter that one day, she might have the chance to extract true justice from the coward who had killed her Bearer and caused her to be exiled to a world where she could be freely hunted and killed. It was a prayer that she knew would never be answered.

She eyed the carving critically as she compared the generalized outline of the sculpture to the frozen image on her mask. She wasn't sure just how much detail she would be able to put into it without running the risk of ruining it entirely. With a resigned sigh, she wrapped the incomplete statue in a length of skin, and placed it carefully back in the cubby hole that she'd made for it. She turned her attention to taking stock of what items she now had, and what she needed.

A small number of dishes for eating and drinking, several sets of outer clothing composed of the tough scaled hide of a Spike-hound, the one set of durable clothing she'd been wearing when exiled here, a few meager weapons that had been made from materials provided by her kills, and her awu'asa. While she knew that the spear she had made from a combination of ivory and a spine from a Spike-hound wasn't reliable, the weapon she had made by following instructions from her wrist computer was another matter entirely.

With one tip placed on the ground, the other tip rose to the level of her bottom rib. In the center of the 'bow' as the computer called it, it was as thick as her wrist, and slowly tapered to points as thick as her thumb. A single strand of hide ran from one point to the other to keep the shaft bent with a large amount of tension. The bow, as the computer named it, propelled a miniature and primitive version of a spear at incredible speed, and with far more power than she could throw it herself. She had made a number of these small spears, or 'arrows' as termed by her computer, and had even tried the weapon. While it appeared to be crude, clumsy, and ineffective, the strange weapon had proven to be _very_ powerful when she tried it. She did realize that while the weapon was excellent at medium ranged targets, it was also something that she would have to develop her skill with.

She decided that since she needed to practice with the strange weapon and that she needed a variety of meat to allow for a change in her diet; she might as well attempt both at the same time. She grabbed the bow in her left hand, and retrieved the hollowed log of arrows. Then she crawled to the mouth of her cave to see that it was low tide. Dropping to the ledge that ran just beneath the surface of the water, she headed to her right in the direction of the mountains. She went about six st'rok, which were each five thousand nok, before climbing up the cliff to reach the mountains.

R'ka-thwei reached a plateau, which was covered in a thick jungle like growth. The only real difference between what was located up here versus what she knew was found below, was that the plants were growing more densely here. She had no idea what type of creatures she might find in this area, but she knew one thing for certain. There was little of _anything_ on this planet that wasn't considered highly dangerous in one way or another. That was why she always had to stay sharp and focused. Almost everything on this planet was deadly. She had even heard a few rumors that concerned very large carnivorous _plants_ existing on this world!

She made her way slowly through the branches of trees that towered far taller than those near sea level, as she cycled through the visual modes of her mask to search for possible game. It was nearly two hours of silent moving before she finally spotted something. It almost appeared to be a reptile of some kind about five nok in length. She observed the creature closely, as it moved through the thick undergrowth. It didn't appear to be very fast, but that didn't mean that it wasn't. Deciding that she might as well find out the quality of penetration that her self made weapon offered, she nocked an arrow, and drew it back. Taking aim at the head of the creature, she fired.

The arrow wasn't as fast as a shot from her plasma caster, and it certainly didn't cause the same level of damage. But it definitely had more than enough power to easily penetrate the skull of the beast. R'ka-thwei stared at the creature that had been killed instantly, with more than a little surprise. The survival guide that she had in her wrist computer had indicated that the weapon possessed an amazing amount of power in spite of its primitive nature, but she never would have dreamed that it had _this_ much power! The arrow from her single shot was buried more than half way into the skull, and she was fairly sure that it had actually gone all the way through. She knew that she couldn't be positive about that until she got down there and actually examined the body.

The Great Yautja stepped easily off the tree branch that was located a little more than thirty nok off the ground, and landed silently near her latest kill. Instead of falling over onto its side, the creature had simply fallen to its belly, as if the legs had suddenly given out. Using her right foot she intended to roll the creature onto its left side. A muffled snap accompanied the move and she saw to her surprise that the arrow had actually gone completely through the skull and had been deeply embedded in the ground beneath the creature. Her mandibles flared in an unintentional grin as she considered the implications, and possibilities of her new weapon. She knew that it wouldn't have the range of her plasma caster, but it _did_ have the singular advantage of being almost as silent as a thrown chakt-ra! The main differences being that it was _much_ more powerful than a thrown weapon, and she knew that with time and skill, that it could be more accurate as well, plus it had to have at _least_ twice the range of a bladed disk.

Her eyes began to burn from unshed tears of gratitude as she thought of what her Bearer had _insisted_ that she keep with her! She was now certain that her Bearer was even now looking after her safety from beyond the almighty and unstoppable grasp of The Dark Hunter. How this could be so, she had no idea, but she was sure that it was true. A home, cooking utensils, skins, furs to sleep in, means to preserve meat for quite some time, and now, she even had a new and very reliable weapon for hunting, and all of it was because her Bearer had insisted that she keep some information in her wrist computer. A Bearer who was now dead at the hands of a Bad Blood. A Bearer who would never see or know of her triumph in completing her Kainde Amedha Chiva a full ten years early. Her Bearer, whom she knew would never be avenged, and that the Bad Blood who had so callously murdered her would never be brought to justice, had insured that she could survive even this ordeal.

Downloading and storing the information was such a simple thing. It had been nothing really, but that one simple act had made her Bearer release a breath of relief once she had the survival guide permanently stored in her wrist computer. Her Bearer had only been doing what was best for her, and while she hadn't truly realized it then, she most certainly realized and appreciated that fact, now. R'ka-thwei knew that her Bearer was beyond any means of communication now, and she would never be able to tell her Bearer just what she now missed, nor would she ever be able to speak of the things she had never said. They were regrets that now haunted her at times, and she had no idea how to deal with those regrets. She shook her head sadly and turned her attention back to the creature she had just killed.

She reached down and pulled the broken and now useless arrow from the head of the creature. Turning to the body of the creature, she pulled her knife and was about to start skinning it, when she noticed something. She used her wrist computer and the short range sensors in it, to examine what she saw. The coating of thick mucus that covered the creature was nearly a tenth of a nok thick, but the real problem that the sensors showed her, was that the mucus was an incredibly toxic contact poison. She turned her knife so that she could then use the spine of the blade to scrape the slime off.

Scraping the slime off the strange beast proved to be a very time consuming task. She made certain to get enough of the stuff removed so that she could place the carcass in her large game bag, then she began heading back to her cave. On the return trip, she spotted many small creatures that served as prey for many of the carnivorous creatures on this world. The powerful bow that she had made turned out to be very useful in hunting several of the small, nimble creatures. Those were then placed in her smaller game bag on the other side of her waist. The bow proved to be an interesting and relaxing way to hunt, and though she had missed her target completely on quite a few attempts during her return to her cave; R'ka-thwei was quickly approaching the point that she adored the new weapon.

Approaching her cave, she stopped and used the water of the ocean to wash away the remaining slime from the strange creature that she'd killed, before entering her home. She quickly cleaned the smaller creatures first, and set the meat to be dried by the smoke from her fire. Then she turned her attention to the Slime Beast as she had decided to call it. Cleaning the creature turned out to be extremely easy. The hide wasn't anywhere near as tough as she had thought that it would be, and the entire beast came apart with surprisingly little effort on her part. It wasn't until she was portioning out the meat that she realized she might have a problem.

Even drained of blood, the meat was incredibly wet from the amount of fluid that it retained. She knew right away that it would never last long enough to become fully dried before beginning to rot. Once more, she consulted the survival guide in her wrist computer, and learned that with a very wet meat, she would need to use both salt and smoke in order to preserve it, but that even then, it would not last as long as the rest of the drier meats. Curious to see how it would taste, she put a chunk of it over the fire to roast while she processed the creature's hide.

It took her a while to deal with the meat from the Slime Beast before she was able to deal with preserving the skin from the creature. Once she was done, her mandibles fell slack from her face as she kept running her fingers across the hide of the strange creature. Nothing she'd ever felt, not a single fur that her Bearer had possessed, and not even her own undercloth were as soft as what she was now repeatedly dragging her fingers across. Incredibly soft and pliant, the skin was something that she had never imagined could exist. She didn't even try to resist the sudden and inexplicable urge to rub the hide against the side of her face. It wasn't until one of her highly sensitive tendrils brushed against the hide that she realized just how soft and smooth it really was. Suddenly her golden yellow eyes shot wide as she realized that she could make some excellent underclothing from this skin, and that it would be even softer than the factory fabricated underclothing that she had been wearing. Her mandibles fixed themselves into a smirk of pleased smugness as she began measuring out the pieces that she would need.

After she had measured and cut the pieces for new underclothing, she realized that she was salivating heavily. When she focused on why that was, she became aware of the most wonderful scent emanating from the meat of the Slime Beast that was roasting. Unable to resist the incredibly tempting smell of the meat that was thoroughly cooked; she removed it from the fire and bit off a small piece. Suddenly, her hands were completely full as the meat simply fell apart. At first, she thought that it was ruined, but then the flavor in her mouth told her otherwise. The meat had become so soft, tender, and was so full of juices that she couldn't believe it!

'_No wonder the creature is covered in that poison! That has to be the only thing that keeps those beats from being hunted to extinction by everything because of their flavor!'_ R'ka-thwei thought in surprise.

An unintentional rumbling purr of the purest bliss rose from her deep within her chest as she began eating the flesh of the strange beast. Soft and tender enough that even a still sucking pup could eat it without teeth or tusk, she was truly enjoying this repast.


	4. Chapter 4

INTSTM 4

R'ka-thwei had been dwelling in the cave that she now considered to be her home for more than six full moons. The cave still retained a somewhat primitive aspect to it, even though the Great Yautja had spent countless hours modifying various features of the cave. The entirety of the floor was now covered in hides and furs, and an exhaust vent had been carved, smashed, and, thanks to her plasma caster, blasted through the rock to the outside of the cliff so that she was able to keep a fire in the chamber that contained her bathing pool. The rock that composed the pool had been carefully smoothed so that she could readily relax in it to either bathe or soak as she chose. The shallow fur lined pit that she used as her bed was now so thick with furs, that she couldn't tell that the whole thing was based on solid rock. The carving she had made of The Dark Hunter was still incomplete, but was easily recognizable as to who and what it was intended to be. The Great Yautja knew that she had reached the limits of her skill in making the carving, and though it wasn't quite finished and remained somewhat primitive in appearance, she was still very pleased with the overall result.

She could look around her home and see the various th'syra that adorned her walls. Every single spot that she'd made to hold a skull was filled with a trophy that she could be proud of. The only things that were missing were the five skulls from her Chiva. Trophies that could never be recovered or replaced.

R'ka-thwei's mandibles tightened even as her eyes began to burn from angry tears as she recalled that horrifically fateful day in the chamber of the Council of Arbitrators. She remembered how angry the Matriarch of the Clan that had provided transport had been, and how that same Matriarch had insisted on full punishment for the lack of payment. She recalled being forced to watch helplessly as that Matriarch had been granted the right to smash, break, and destroy every last trophy that she'd fought so hard to claim during her Chiva. The heart rending pain of having been taken straight from the ship to the Council Chamber where she had learned of her Bearer's death had caused tears to begin flowing down her face. She was immediately stripped of every trophy she'd claimed, and sentenced to permanent exile on the game world. The last and final blow was when she had dared to inquire after the fate of the one who had killed her Bearer, and she was told that the investigation had proven inconclusive, and that the perpetrator would forever remain unknown.

As the heart wrenching grief and anger flowed through her mind as fresh as the day it had occurred, she knew that she couldn't sit still. She had to work off some of her frustration. She quickly donned the scaled armor she had made from the hides of a Spike Hound, her mask, along with her wrist blades, and then grabbing her Ki'its-pa, she headed out to find something she could kill.

Kwei-kv'var-de was well pleased with the results of his latest hunt. The unknown creature that he was carrying back to his ship was something that he'd never heard of before. Unknown and extremely deadly, the beast had proven to be a true challenge. Venom glands in the mouth, poisoned claws, and even a toxic coating on the sharp spikes of the creature were all things that he'd had to struggle to avoid while fighting the beast. In the end, he had finally won, although he knew that his victory had been a very near thing. Having been raked by the claws of the creature had nearly proven to be his death. Even as he struck that final killing blow, he had known that something was wrong. His moves were becoming sluggish, his vision was blurred, and even his coordination was off. It had taken every last drop of healing serum in his trauma kit to counter the poison that had been running rampant though his body, but he had survived. Not only had he survived, but he had proven the victor as well.

The carcass was undoubtedly heavy, and at seven nok in height, even his great strength was having a bit of difficulty in hauling the massive burden of his kill. He stopped for a brief moment to adjust the load on his shoulder, and when he did, he could have sworn that he heard… _something_. He looked around carefully, and cycled through every visual mode in his mask, but he didn't see anything that might be considered any type of cause for alarm. He knew that this world was full of danger, but it was also filled with the potential for great honor as well.

The Game World had been meticulously seeded with literally thousands of different creatures that would prove to be a worthy challenge for a Blooded Yautja Warrior. Even though there was no Hard Meat to be hunted on this planet, there was a plethora of other prey that could prove to be almost as dangerous and sometimes even more of a challenge. It was that challenge that he had come here for. He was experienced enough, and had sought out advice from other Hunters who had been here, that he had taken some precautions for his own safety. Doing things like hiding several sets of awu'asa and half a dozen trauma kits in the holding cell of the Clan ship he had come here in. He had even locked out the controls of the ship, so that it could not function for anyone else without his living DNA, _and_ his voluntary cooperation. Since the ship belonged to his Clan and not to him personally, there was no way that he was going to allow it to be stolen.

He was just about to walk up the ramp of the ship, when his entire field of vision exploded in a swirling sea of brilliant and sparkling stars. He knew that he'd fallen to the ground, and that he was completely helpless while his armor and weapons were stripped from his body. He struggled valiantly against the looming darkness that threatened to engulf him, and though he was successful in that, he had been unable to prevent his assailants from trussing him up like a piece of game that had already been killed. He retained enough presence of mind to carefully note the direction that he was being carried in, because as long as he was alive, he intended to find someway to escape from those who had struck him from behind like cowards. His assailants moved swiftly at a run, and though he was unable to see anything except for the legs of the one that carried him, he knew beyond any doubt that he was being carried by one of those known as a 'Black Yautja'.

The Black Yautja were something that he had been told of. Their history and even their origins were known to him. He had been told how, in an age long forgotten, that a large faction of Yautja Warriors had forsaken the ways of normal Yautja, and left the known regions of space. He'd been told how; they had altered their very DNA to make themselves larger, stronger, faster, and supposedly even smarter than their now smaller brethren. They had chosen to remake themselves, because they wanted to become better and greater than any possible prey could hope to be. This was something that no _true_ Yautja would dare to consider now. Hunting prey was _supposed_ to be a challenge! It was _supposed_ to be difficult and life threatening! How else could it be assured that only those Warriors who were truly worthy would survive? He had heard that such arguments had been tried on those who had left, but that such reasoning had also been ignored.

Kwei-kv'var-de remained silent even as he was tied to a large pole in the ground with his hands secured firmly above his head, while his feet were also tied to the pole. His feet could barely touch the ground, and there was no way that he could use them to support his weight. He knew that sooner or later, his strength would begin to play out, and that then, merely breathing would become a rather difficult task. He looked around quickly to see that he had been captured by a group of four Black Yautja, and that he'd been brought back to their camp to be trussed up like a live trophy.

His mandibles spread in anger when he spotted a second and already occupied pole setup that held… _a female_? His jaw fell open in stark disbelief at the dishonor that he was now a witness to. He couldn't help but stare in rude and stunned silence at the female who had been completely stripped of all clothing, and was now tied naked to a set of poles. She was positioned backwards over one pair of poles with a crossbar, so that she was face up, but her hands were tied to the poles that supported the cross member. Her feet were tied separately to two other poles that had obviously been driven deep in the ground to be able to hold the female captive. When he finally looked up at the face of the female who was so obviously as helpless as he was, he received an even greater shock. She was also a Black Yautja! Shocked to the core of his being, he began to look around this little camp and take note of everything he could.

He watched in studious silence as one of the males left for some reason or other, but when a second male approached the unconscious female and began slapping her into wakefulness, he could maintain his silence no longer.

"What's wrong coward? Do you not have the honor to face her on equal terms?" He challenged the male who had struck the female until she gave voice to protest.

"Honor is only for those who are too stupid or too weak to take that which they want! We of the Roaring Sky Clan will take whatever we want and by whatever means we want, and there is nothing you can do to stop us!" The male promptly retorted with a sneer as he turned towards him.

"Only cowards and bad bloods behave in such a fashion! Which are you?" Kwei-kv'var-de demanded in angry disgust.

The male laughed as he approached him. "We are the ones who hold you prisoner. We are the ones who hold her prisoner. And it was my elder brother who planned all of this. We will take this female by force and fill her with our seed. Since she has yet to enter her first breeding season, the hormones from our seed will cause her body to change so that she can never get with a pup, but she will begin to constantly crave to be bred; she will _need_ that constant breeding, and we will keep her as a pauk slave for the remainder of her life. Long have we searched this world to find her after her exile here, and now that we have her, we will keep her!"

"Ell-osde' Pauk! Pauk-de S'yuit-de Tarei'hasan!" Kwei-kv'var-de bellowed in rage.

The male Black Yautja laughed even louder at being cursed and called a pathetic, and unworthy opponent. "This from one who is helpless to do anything against us? Do you believe that we will not kill you slowly? Believe it! Because we will! Long have my brothers planned the capture of this female, and long have we _all_ planned for her to be placed on this world. We will make you watch as we force her into to becoming our pauk slave, and there… is… nothing… you… can… do… about… it!"

Each of the last seven words had been punctuated by the blow of a fist to his abdomen. His body and even his head rocked from the sheer force of each impact. But even as helpless as he was, his honor would not allow these males to use a female in such a way. He would die first! Further speech was made impossible by the continuing blows and strikes of the Black Yautja, which were kept up until he lost consciousness.

Kwei-kv'var-de opened his eyes to see that it was nearing midday. He knew that he had remained unconscious for a very long time because it had been nearing nightfall when he'd been captured. His ribs and stomach ached abominably where the male had beaten him, but he knew from the feeling that nothing had been broken by the beating.

'_They must want to try to break me first. But that will never happen! I will watch, and I will wait. When the moment is right, then I will be free, and I will send these bad blood cowards to Cetanu for judgment!"_ Kwei-kv'var-de thought fervently. He only hoped that he could somehow manage to free himself before he became too weak to effectively fight these Black Yautja who were already much stronger than he was.

When the three males present gathered their weapons and left the camp, he turned his attention to the female who was a prisoner along with him.

"I am named Kwei-kv'var-de by my Bearer. I am of the Broken Knife Clan. If I were able, I would greet you properly in honor." He said by way of introduction.

"Greetings, Kwei-kv'var-de. I am named R'ka-thwei by my Bearer. I had not earned a Clan before my exile, so I don't have one to name." R'ka-thwei replied sadly before she hung her head back down.

"Why would you need to _'earn'_ a Clan?" He asked in confusion.

"Only those who are born to the higher ranked females are assured a place within the Clan that they are born to. Everyone else must earn such a position. Is it not that way among your kind?" R'ka-thwei asked now showing her own confusion in turn.

"Of course not! If one is born into a Clan, then they are a part of that Clan until they die, are exiled, banished from the Clan, or accepted into a more prominent Clan by being taken as a lifemate. The Clan is forever! It is what binds Yautja together as one. There are many bloodlines in each Clan, but all within that Clan are considered to be as siblings." Kwei-kv'var-de answered forcefully.

R'ka-thwei gaped at the much smaller Yautja in stark disbelief. For the past nineteen generations, her line had struggled to earn a place or position within various Clans, and though many had succeeded, neither her Bearer nor she had been able to accomplish that feat. But apparently the smaller Yautja did things _much_ differently! It was a mind boggling concept to even consider. She gave a firm shake of her head to clear such thoughts from her mind before she turned her head to study the smaller male.

Bound to a pole and just as much a prisoner as she was, she could still see that although this male was full grown, he was not quite half her height. He was maybe seven nok tall, and perhaps a fourth of her weight. This was the first time that she had ever seen one of the smaller Yautja, so she took the time to look the male over. She was forced to hold her head up at an awkward angle to see the male, and she was surprised to note that that he didn't have a high domed forehead like a Great Yautja. Instead his forehead was a flat slope that went from just above his eyes to sweep upwards towards the back of his head. The other thing that she noticed was that his lower mandibles weren't as long or prominent as hers were.

"Clans do not matter now. They will leave us tied and starved until we are too weak and exhausted to resist them. Then, they will begin to torture you, before they finally kill you, and they will do much worse to me. What they plan on doing to me will not only alter my body but destroy my mind so that I won't want or even care for anything except constant fruitless breeding." She answered with terror obvious in her voice.

"They only plan such things because they have no honor!" Kwei-kv'var-de retorted angrily.

"No one who comes to this world ever has any honor. Those who are exiled here have been stripped of it, and those who hunt here have forsaken it. Honor has never had a place on this world, and only The Dark Hunter can regard this planet with any esteem." R'ka-thwei answered disgustedly.

"How did you come to be here?" He asked cautiously.

"My Bearer was killed by a Bad Blood while I was taking my Chiva. The Clan of those who have captured us had provided my transport. Both I and my Bearer had thought that we were lucky to secure such transportation, but apparently we weren't. The result is that she is now dead, I have been stripped of all honor, and exiled here because she was killed before she could pay for my transport. Now it seems that I will not even have the freedom of this world or even my own body once they have used me in the way that they've bragged about." She answered sadly.

Suddenly things began to click into place in his mind. Kwei-kv'var-de _knew_ that their captors were somehow responsible for the exile of this female, and he was also convinced that they were somehow responsible for the death of this female's Bearer. He was about to tell the obviously depressed female of his conclusions when the three Black Yautja males walked back into the camp.


	5. Chapter 5

INTSTM 5

_**Author's Notes: Sorry about the screw up the other night. Chap 4 got stuck BETWEEN chaps 2 & 3 in my uploaded docs because of the word count and length. I fixed it though. In the meantime, enjoy, and review if you like, they aren't required or necessary, but they ARE inspiring!**_

Jennifer Alison Greer remained as still and as silent as a corpse while she observed the scene in front of her. She had no idea what was going on, and she certainly didn't know how she had gotten here, but she intended to find out. The last thing she could recall before awakening on this whacked out planet that _certainly_ wasn't Earth, was preparing to run a final live fire test on the prototype unit that she was currently using to excellent advantage.

Active Camouflage, which was better known as 'invisibility' or 'cloaking' to the layman, had been a dream of military leaders since the dawn of warfare, and now, after God alone knew how many thousands of hours of research, it was finally a reality. She knew that it was real, and that it worked exactly as planned, because she was wearing and using the final proof. As a close quarters combat specialist in the United States Marine Corps, she was especially noted for the incredible stealth which was a part of her half Apache heritage that had been handed down from her mother's side of the family. It was for her skill in stealth, along with her combat expertise that she had been chosen to run the final test of infiltrating an 'enemy' barracks. She remembered being just outside of Groom Lake also known as Nellis Air Force Base to conduct the test against her fellow team mates who had actually been warned that she would be coming. It had been meant to be a true test of the unit's capabilities, but instead, she had found herself waking up on this weird planet.

She knew that the two humanoid aliens that she'd been observing for the past couple of minutes were prisoners. That much was obvious from the fact that not only were they tied, but also the positions that they were tied in. The one ahead of her to the right was definitely a female, if the huge breasts and the all too visible labia of the outer vagina were anything to go by. The other, and much smaller prisoner, was one that she _thought_ was a male, but she wasn't sure on that one since it was only half the size of the female, and wearing a rather strange looking loincloth as well. She could easily hear the soft grunting growls that passed between the two, and she was fairly sure that they were communicating in a language that she couldn't hope to decipher. One thing was certain though, and that was that the all too naked female was trussed up and tied in such a way as to facilitate a rape, and _that_ was something that burned down to the very core of her being.

It was a cold and deadly rage that burned in her heart, because as far as she was concerned, there was _never_ any excuse to rape a woman! She didn't care that the female wasn't even human. That made absolutely no difference to her. She couldn't tell if the woman or female alien; whatever she was… had already been raped, because she didn't see any fresh or dried fluids that might indicate that she had been. But there was one thing that she was sure of, and that was that she wasn't going to stand idly by and let it happen again, if it hadn't happened already.

At five feet and four inches tall in her stockings, Jennifer, known as Jenna, or Jen, to her friends, was better known to her team mates by her initials because she was a stickler for rules and regulations. They would often joke that her real name was Judge Advocate General, and _that_ was why they called her Jag. Her black shoulder length hair was tied down beneath a black 'biker wrap' style bandana, and her large almond shaped dark brown eyes burned with anger as she waited for those who were holding the two aliens captive.

Ever since she had woken up earlier that day, and saw the huge ringed planet in the sky above, she had known that she wasn't on Earth anymore. It had been a terrifying and disturbing realization. She had immediately activated the camouflage unit, and began looking for some defensible position to use as a base. Then, after hours of stalking silently through these strange trees, she had come upon the scene in front of her. She could see that the two aliens were roughly human shaped, but that was as far as the resemblance went. Even the smaller of the two was much taller than she was, and their faces, she had to suppress a shudder whenever she looked at them.

She stood silently with her back against a pair of large trees that were far wider than she was. There was no breeze at all, and even though the heat wasn't much different from the summers in Arizona, she was sure that the humidity would be the death of her. Either way, this was an alien world, and she needed some type of allies, because she knew that she would have to sleep sooner or later, and the two alien prisoners just happened to be her best possibilities at that moment.

It was only her extensive training and her combat experience that allowed her to refrain from gasping in surprise as three _huge_ aliens walked silently past her into the clearing where the other two aliens were being held captive. As soon as the trio was in the clearing, they began pulling off various pieces of equipment. Some of it looked like it was meant to be a type of armor, while other pieces appeared to be melee weapons. She was about to move forward when the three large aliens gathered around the captive female, but she held her position when the smaller captive growled out something that obviously caught their attention.

She knew that was the case because the three captors immediately surged towards the smaller of the two tied aliens and began beating on it mercilessly. As much as she hated herself for doing it, she held her position, because she could see that although the one that was tied was close to eight feet tall, the trio that was delivering the beating were around twelve or thirteen feet tall. She couldn't be sure exactly how tall those aliens were, but they were _huge_, and she wasn't about to engage them without one hell of a good reason!

She didn't know exactly how long the beating lasted, but she knew that it was quite a while. Once the three of them were done beating their captive they turned towards the female again. This time they were growling something as they all crowded around her. Then one of them stripped off a loincloth that was much like her ancestors had worn, and the female began to struggle uselessly against her bonds, while growling, snarling, and finally… whimpering something. That was all it took!

As swift and deadly as she was silent, Jennifer moved away from the pair of trees. The silenced MP-5 submachine gun with armor piercing rounds in her hands was locked and loaded. Her weapon coughed softly as a three round burst took the one standing on her left right at the base of the neck. The one standing guard to the right started to turn and he caught the second burst in the throat, and he died with a gurgling sound as he drowned in his own blood. That was when the one that was preparing to mount the tied female noticed that something was wrong and he started to turn. Jennifer waited until he had completed his turn before she let loose and completely emptied the magazine in a single long burst that totally obliterated whatever he'd once had between his legs.

She knew that her camouflage unit had shut down the moment she had opened fire, and that the now roaring alien could see her clearly. That didn't matter to her in the slightest, since she _wanted_ him to see that he was being killed by a woman who was _beyond_ pissed at what he had tried to do! As the alien sank to his knees with his hands clutching his bloody crotch, he still towered above her. Jennifer didn't pay any attention to the weird neon green blood that was spurting from the fatal wound, because she was too busy reloading before taking a careful aim at the throat of the alien. Another soft coughing sound from the MP-5, and the final alien was dropping to the ground dead. She had to sidestep quickly to avoid being pinned by the immense bulk of the alien carcass. Once the alien was on the ground, she made certain that all three of them were truly dead by putting a round in each of their heads. Then she turned her attention to the captive female.

The alien woman had her head hanging awkwardly backwards as she took deep gasping breaths. Jennifer could only assume that it was in relief that this rape at least, had never happened. She looked back and forth between the two captives for a moment, before she calmly regarded the now dead aliens.

"_Shree her!"_

The strange sounds that were almost words had come from the smaller of the two captive aliens.

"What? Were you just trying to tell me something?" Jennifer asked cautiously.

She watched as the alien nodded its head and repeated the sounds carefully.

"_Shree her!"_ The alien stated while motioning towards the captive female with his head.

This time, Jennifer was looking at the alien as it spoke those words, and she saw that there were no lips of any kind on that alien mouth. _'Without lips, it obviously can't make certain sounds, so what was it trying to say?'_ She wondered, before it struck her.

The alien had been trying to say _'free her!'_, and her eyes widened in that realization. Quickly moving over to the captive female, she looked at the means by which she was tied. Almost immediately, Jennifer felt her heart sink. That was _not_ rope! It was some type of steel cable that was holding the woman down! She knew instantly, that her combat knife would be useless on that cable… _but_ her MP-5, on the other hand would be more than effective. The machine gun bucked once in her hands while it gave a short coughing sound as the cable on the female's right foot was severed. Taking aim once more, she fired a second time at the cable holding the left foot.

No sooner had she released the trigger then she was snatched off the ground by her neck. The MP-5 clattered uselessly on the ground as she was turned to face her attacker. It was _another_ one of those aliens! And this one was apparently pissed about what she had done to his friends.

"_I will kill you slowly, ooman bitch! I will shuck you to death, before I shuck her, and make her my slave!"_ The alien growled angrily as he shook her in front of his face.

Both of Jennifer's hands were holding onto the wrist of the massive hand that had her by the throat. Her feet were well off the ground, and there was no way that she could fight something that could hold her in one hand as easily as this alien was doing. She couldn't help a quick examination of the alien as he was shaking her, and she noticed that weird fishnet looking suit that he was wearing. Suddenly she got an idea.

Both of her hands left the wrist that was holding her as she began pushing and punching at the alien. Then, her hands quickly dropped to the belt on her waist.

"Fuck you!" She screamed before spitting right in the alien's eyes as she once again fumbled at the fishnet suit that he was wearing.

Suddenly she felt herself flying through the air to slam against the two trees she had been crouching by, with a sickening crunch. There was an intense burst of incredible pain from the left side of her body accompanied by a horrible cracking sound. She gritted her teeth while gasping for the breath that had been knocked out of her and shook her head to try to clear the starred pattern from her vision. Just moving her head caused fresh hot agony to lance down her spine. She knew that it took her a couple of seconds to do this, and when she looked up, it was just in time to see the H.E. grenade detonate while still hanging from the fishnet that the alien was sporting. How she managed to get her right hand up to shield her face, she would never know, but the concussion from the blast slammed her head back against the tree, and she spent several more seconds trying to clear both her head and her vision.

As she struggled to get to her feet, sharp lancing pain shot through the entire left side of her torso. She knew that she had at least a couple of broken ribs, but the worst sensation was that of the grating bone in her left arm. The pain from the grinding bones in her arm nearly knocked her out.

"Stay on your feet Marine! This is _not_ some fucking game! There are lives on the line right now, and yours is one of 'em; so get the fucking lead out! You know the drill Soldier; now do your fucking job!" She snarled firmly to herself as she fell back heavily on her training.

It was enough, but just barely. She knew that she was not going to be able to stay conscious for long, but at the very least, she could finish setting the female alien free. That much she was determined to do. Her entire world tilted crazily as agonizing fire shot through her body with every doggedly determined step. She was a United States Marine, and she was not about to give up. Not when she could see her weapon a short distance away.

Knowing that there was no way that she could bend down to retrieve her weapon without passing out, Jennifer gritted her teeth in preparation for what she was about to do. She dropped to her knees and screamed in bloody agony as the jolt jarred her entire left side and her left arm at the same time. She could barely make out the black form of her submachine gun through her tears of agonized pain, as she leaned forward to pick it up in her right hand. Her breath was coming in short ragged gasps as she wiped her eyes on her right sleeve. Then she took careful aim and shot the cable that tied the female's right hand to the thick post. As soon as she had fired the second shot at the cable on the left hand, she felt her gun fall from now nerveless fingers. She knew that shock was setting in fast. However badly she was really injured, she knew that it was serious, and a lot more than just a few broken bones. She tried to catch herself with her right hand as she fell, but she was unconscious the moment she stuck her hand out to try.


	6. Chapter 6

INTSTM 6

R'ka-thwei caught the strange creature that had miraculously freed her, before it could fall to the ground. She gently eased the strange being onto its back in hope of not aggravating whatever injury had incapacitated the tiny thing. She had seen how that one arm was dangling uselessly as the creature had approached her, and from that alone, she knew that the creature had been injured when that male Great Yautja had tossed the little being like a Chakt-ra. A swift glance around let her spot a dah'Nagara that had been discarded by one of the males who'd been boasting of how they'd force her. She snatched it up and turned to the small Yautja male who was still tied.

"Good! You are free. I didn't think the ooman would be able to do anything after being thrown like that. If there is _any_ honor within you, then free me; please! She will need medical treatment soon or she will most likely die." Kwei-kv'var-de ground out through swollen mandibles in relief, even though he was still in a lot of pain from the tremendous beating he'd received.

"You… you know what this creature is?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I told you she is an ooman! Pyode Amedha. They are small and weak, but they are very smart and cunning. Many Yautja used to hunt them, before their world was declared off limits, because their governments are now aware of us and trying to capture us to gain our technology." He answered honestly.

"I will free you, but if you try anything against me, I will not hesitate to kill you." R'ka-thwei warned in a growl.

"The only thing I have tried is to keep those pauk-de zabin from forcing you. That ooman has restored our freedom, and possibly even our lives. I would not have her die before I can repay the honor she has shown." Kwei-kv'var-de replied quickly.

R'ka-thwei took a deep breath and stepped forward to sever the cable that bound the small male's feet. Then she did the same for his hands. She was slightly surprised that he fell for a brief moment, before he caught himself in a stagger.

As soon as he recovered his balance, he went over to the crate that contained his awu'asa. Grabbing nothing but his mask, he quickly turned to examine the ooman female in each of the visual modes available to him.

"She has internal injuries. Her upper left arm is broken in three places, and five of her ribs are also broken on that side. Her neck has been badly wrenched, and she's lucky that the throw alone didn't kill her. I don't think she should be moved, but I don't know how safe this camp is going to be for us." He said after a quick look at the female ooman.

"You wouldn't happen to have a ship nearby would you? Even deployment and escape pods have some type of medical gear aboard them." R'ka-thwei said as she looked down at the female.

"It is four days walk to get there. I can make it in half a day by running, but I doubt the ooman would survive the run. Do you have a ship that is nearby and safe?" Kwei-kv'var-de demanded quickly as he began donning the rest of his armor.

"I have a cave on the coast among the cliffs. But I only have an eighth of a dose of healing serum left." She answered now certain that the ooman who had saved both her life, and her honor would now die.

"Then carry her there. I will find you. Do not shake her in any way. An eighth of a dose might be enough to keep her alive until I can reach the coast. Is there a way that I can signal you?"

"Yes, when you reach the cliffs along the coast, make the water splash loudly four times. I will know that it's you and will guide you from there." R'ka-thwei answered hesitantly.

She didn't want to reveal the one safe place that she had on this world, but it now seemed that she had no choice. Not if she was to keep what was left of her honor, which had been restored to her by the ooman whose life now depended on someone being able to find her cave. Then, as soon as she had finished speaking, the male Yautja cloaked himself as he took off at a swift run.

Certain that time was short, R'ka-thwei found the crate that contained her own equipment, and quickly donned it. Then, she spotted a game bag in the gear that the males had shed when they were about to force her. She quickly gathered up all of their equipment and weapons before severing the heads of the four males. All of it, including the severed heads, went into the game bag. Then she took her dagger and cut a long strip of skin from one of the now dead males. She smiled grimly as she did this, thinking that it was strange that the dead body could be used with more honor than that warrior had possessed in life. She used the long and wide strip of skin to bind the arm and ribs of the tiny female, before she gently lifted the unconscious ooman into her arms.

Contrary to what the male had said, R'ka-thwei was running. It wasn't the rough bouncing run of the untrained, but a smooth steady lope that ate the distance easily without jarring her precious burden in the least. It wasn't too long before she was leaping up to the entrance of her cave, and scurrying down the entry tunnel to lay the ooman in her own furs.

Opening her medical kit, she looked sadly at what little was there; a quarter dose of pain blocking serum, and one eighth dose of healing serum. It wasn't much, but it would have to be enough. She wasn't stupid enough to simply inject the serum right after mixing the two together. Instead, she cycled through her visual modes until she could see the ooman's bones. She worked carefully and quickly as she set the arm, so that it wouldn't heal crookedly and cripple the tiny female. Then she took her dagger and carefully cut away the ooman's strange awu'asa, so that she could open the female's side to set the ribs. It was a messy task, but it took her only a few brief moments to get the job done. Now came the hardest, and most nerve wracking part of all of it; waiting until Kwei-kv'var-de arrived, if he even planned on doing so at all.

From the way he was running, one might have thought that it was _his_ life which was at stake. That it was his own life which was dependant on every last bit of speed that he could possibly muster from a pain wracked body that had hung motionless for who knew how many hours prior to being beaten. But the pain of agonized musculature was as nothing to Kwei-kv'var-de. It was a minor hindrance that weighed upon his heart and mind even less than his armor did upon his battered body. He knew that his freedom had been restored to him by the ooman. But more important at the moment was that both the honor and freedom of a female had been restored by the actions of the ooman as well. The result was something that he knew had not occurred since the schism; a peaceful meeting between a Yautja, and a Black Yautja.

Kwei-kv'var-de was _not_ stupid! He knew that this unprecedented and uneasy peace between he and the Black Yautja named R'ka-thwei would not last a single instant beyond the death of the ooman. From the comments that had been made, he knew that the Black Yautja was obviously one who held her honor in high esteem, even if others had declared that she had none. It was also obvious that the Black Yautja owed the ooman a both a Life Debt, _and_ an Honor Debt! Those were debts that could _never_ be fully repaid, and what shocked him more than a little was that he owed the ooman as well. He knew that should that gravely injured female ooman die, that R'ka-thwei would be left with no way to repay the debts that she owed the ooman without killing him in an attempt to avenge her. That was why he was running so hard.

He had no idea how he had managed what he'd done, but somehow, some_thing_ had given him the strength to make it to his ship in much less than the time he had thought that it would take. He headed straight to the pilot's control room, intending to relocate the vessel so that the ooman could receive proper medical attention. What he saw when he entered the control room made his jaw, and his mandibles drop in dismay.

_Everything_ was smashed, and destroyed! There wasn't a single control in the room that was intact enough to even salvage for _repairs_! Kwei-kv'var-de shook his head sadly, before he froze. If he couldn't fly the ship from here, then he might be able to do so from the engineering room where the engines themselves where located. He turned from the destruction of the pilot controls to dash through the ship to the engine room. There he found the same level of destruction. The interstellar drive was beyond salvage or repair with what was available on the vessel.

Kwei-kv'var-de began moving through the ship to see exactly what devastation had been committed. His heart sank as he discovered that the perpetrators had been almost as thorough as they had been destructive. Flight controls, interstellar engines, sensor network, and even the trophies he had claimed while on this world had been destroyed. Every last piece of awu'asa and weaponry in the armory had been taken. There wasn't much that he was able to do for the vessel at this moment, because he had more pressing issues. He turned and headed to the small but well stocked medical room, and saw that nothing had been disturbed. Once again his jaw and mandibles dropped, but this time it was in relief. He moved quickly as he gathered more than a dozen vials each of both healing serum, as well as pain blocker, along with a small portable medical scanner, before he stuffed them in a pouch that he attached to his belt. Then, he looked back at the vials as an idea occurred to him. He knew that he was beyond exhausted from his headlong rush to get here, and that was after receiving two separate beatings from the Black Yautja males. But… if he were to dose himself with a large amount of pain blocker combined with healing serum, then he would be able to make the return run that much faster. He knew that it wasn't considered honorable to use healing serum to temporarily boost one's endurance in the way that he was thinking, but then, that was while hunting. This wasn't a hunt; there was a life at stake, and having enough of the two serums in his system to counter the effects of any fatigue before it could even begin to affect him just might make the difference for the ooman.

He left the ship at an all out run that he knew would drain his endurance _long_ before he even got close to the coast! Under _any_ other circumstances, he would have limited himself to half the speed at which he was running now. That had been the pace he'd used to approach his ship, but for _this_ run, things were different. For this run, he had dosed himself with no less than _two_ vials of healing serum to make certain that his muscles wouldn't be able to form cramps from overuse, and a vial of pain blocker to ensure that even if his muscles _did_ cramp up on him, that he could still keep running at top speed! He knew beyond any doubt that there would be some chance that he might suffer greatly for this later, but for now, it had to be done.

R'ka-thwei idly ran her fingers through the ooman female's hair as she studied the tiny form. The female was just barely more than a third of her height, and perhaps a tenth of her weight. But what truly surprised and more than slightly horrified her, was just how fragile and thin the ooman's bones were. She could see that the broken bones had barely begun to knit before the meager supply of healing serum had run its course, but several of the internal injuries that she had viewed through her mask were partly healed. This was a huge relief to her, because she did _not_ want this female to die before she could even express her gratitude. Unbidden, her eyes leapt to the unfinished carving of the Dark Hunter.

'_Please do not claim this one just yet. At least let her live to receive my thanks.'_ She pleaded in silent fervor. Alone for more than four and a half long years, she now had someone with her; someone that she devoutly hoped would be a friend. She had removed all of the rather odd and essentially worthless protection of the female's apparel. She termed it such, because other than the strangely made cloaking mesh, which she'd had to damage in order to set the female's broken ribs, there was literally _no_ protection provided by any of what the female was wearing.

Suddenly, the Great Yautja froze as an idea occurred to her. Then she moved to the other side of her cave and began tearing through the game bag that still held the equipment and awu'asa of the four males. She dug out every one of the medical kits and opened them. The sudden hope that had flared so brightly within her died instantly when she saw that there wasn't a single vial of healing serum in any of the kits. She took a deep shuddering breath as she looked back at the unconscious female. Cycling through the visual modes of her mask, she looked closely at the partially healed injuries to the ooman female's organs. The internal bleeding was still there, and though it wasn't as pronounced as it had been, it was still enough to end the life of the female if she didn't receive treatment soon.

R'ka-thwei had no idea how long she had sat there watching the ooman fight to simply survive, but she was startled out of her blank state of mind by an impossibly loud splash from outside. She all but froze as she turned her head towards the entrance to her cave. A moment later, there was a second loud splash. Her heart seized in her chest as sudden hope blossomed, and then flared into existence. She quickly made her way to the mouth of her cave to be greeted by a third splash. Poking her head out of her cave, she saw the Yautja male rapidly scaling the face of the cliff before dropping into the water with a fourth loud splash.

"Kwei-kv'var-de! Over here. My cave is here." She called out softly in an urgent tone.

The instant she called out to him, the smaller Yautja moved towards the entrance to her cave as fast as he could. She had to scramble backwards to make room for his rapid entrance.

"Tell me that I'm not too late, and that the ooman still lives." Kwei-kv'var-de rasped as he struggled to catch his breath.

"She lives for now, but she is still bleeding internally, so I don't know how much longer she can hold on." R'ka-thwei answered honestly.

"I've brought enough healing serum to make certain of it. I would have used my ship to get here sooner, but those pauk-de cowards destroyed both the controls and the engines." He told her bluntly as he followed her down the tunnel like entrance.

As he entered what was obviously the main room, he couldn't help but stare for a moment. Having been told that it was a cave, he had expected something primitive and austere. But what he saw before him was nothing of the kind. True, there was no furniture, but there was a fully functional fireplace that was complete with a cooking spit, a small area that held bowls, cups, a pair of stew pots, and utensils for cooking and eating. Then there was the thick layer of furs that covered the entire floor of the cave. Those furs made it obvious that this female had been living here for some while in order to gain so many. When he finally spotted the rather large but shallow pit that had been made into a bedding area, he stopped and turned to face the female Black Yautja.

"You said that it was a cave, but you did _not_ say that it had been made livable, and comfortable." Kwei-kv'var-de said with no small amount of surprise and admiration as he complemented the female on her home as courtesy and honor demanded.

"I… I have had a long time to make it this way." She replied a little embarrassed by her living conditions.

He didn't know of anything he could say at that point which wouldn't be insulting to the female who had invited him into what was obviously her home, so he remained silent, and turned his attention to the ooman instead. He stepped over to the sleeping nest, and knelt down beside the unconscious ooman female. There was a loud and ominous growl from behind him when he pulled the covering fur back to reveal the nude body of the ooman.

Kwei-kv'var-de froze, and didn't move a single muscle as he studied the internal injuries of the female in front of him. That did nothing to stop the warning growl from behind him though; because it only grew louder the longer he looked.

"Relax; I am only examining her injuries. I do not wish her to die anymore than you do. I brought a portable medical scanner that will help; it's in my bag along with several vials of serum." He said calmly without moving a single muscle.

"Very well."

Although begrudged, it was still permission to do what he needed to do. Removing his bag, he opened it and retrieved the scanning unit, before running it over the female ooman's body.

"_Pauk_!"

"What? She isn't dieing is she? Tell me that she will live. I owe her far too much to allow her to die without doing _something_ to save her!" R'ka-thwei exclaimed in protest.

"Her injuries are worse than I thought. You did well by setting the broken bones before giving her that serum, but I will have to cut open her abdominal cavity and apply the healing serum directly on the injuries to close them quickly. She has already lost too much blood. That's why her abdomen is swollen like it is." He said truthfully.

He heard a shuffling sound as the female Black Yautja moved alongside him.

"We should move her off these furs. When I cut into her abdomen, the blood that has gathered inside will spill out and ruin them." He said cautiously.

"Cetanu take the furs! I want her to live! Those furs can be cleaned or replaced, but _she_ can not; not after what she has done for me and my honor!" R'ka-thwei retorted hotly.

Kwei-kv'var-de readied no less than four injectors with healing serum, and a fifth with pain blocking serum. The pain blocker was given immediately, as was a full dose of healing serum. Then he took a small knife, and after a slight adjustment, used the targeting lasers on his mask to heat the edge and sterilize it. Then he cut carefully into the swollen abdomen of the ooman in front of him. Instantly large amounts of thick black blood began pouring from the opening. To the Yautja's heat sensitive vision, every drop showed up as a bright white fluid that was much thicker, and hotter than it should have been. As soon as the opening was clear of the outpouring of spent and contaminated blood, he started using one of the injectors to apply the healing serum directly on to the bleeding areas. There was a sigh of relief from the large female beside him as the bleeding began to drop off and finally stop altogether. It had taken him nearly twenty minutes to apply small amounts of healing serum to the damaged liver and kidneys, not to mention a small and apparently useless organ attached to one of the intestines. Then, finally after using up three and a half vials of serum, the task was complete.

"I need your help now. You will need to hold her muscles closed, so that I can seal them with healing serum, then we can do the same for her skin. Once she is closed up, I'll give her another dose of healing serum, and leave her in Lilka's capable claws." Kwei-kv'var-de instructed.

"What? Does this mean that she will still die?" R'ka-thwei asked in confusion.

"Not necessarily. It means that I have no idea when she last ate, so I don't know if she has the reserves to replace the blood that she's lost, or to finish healing properly. Then there is the risk of infection. From what I have heard, oomans are very smart and cunning, but they are also unbelievably fragile, and easily injured or killed." Kwei-kv'var-de answered quickly.

The two worked together in silence as the he made short work of sealing the stomach muscles of the ooman female, and then the skin of her stomach. Once he was done, he ran the scanner over the female once more to make sure that he hadn't missed anything.

He turned to the large female beside him and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We will need to wake her. Speak to her, get her to talk. We should never have let her lapse into unconsciousness like this. When she hit the tree she also received a concussion. Continuing to sleep can now kill her in spite of all the healing serum!"

"You said something to her after she killed three of those males. You know how to speak her language. I've never even seen an ooman before now! _You_ will have to speak to her, because you obviously know more about her kind than I do." R'ka-thwei replied emphatically.

"It was not I that she sought to rescue. She didn't act until those cowards were about to breed with you by force. _That_ is when she killed them! That was made perfectly clear when she deliberately used her weapon to remove the genitals of the male who planned on being the first to use you in such a despicable manner. You should let her see that her effort was not in vain. Show her that she succeeded!" He instructed quickly.


	7. Chapter 7

INTSTM 7

R'ka-thwei nodded nervously. She had no idea how she would communicate with this ooman who had truly risked life and limb to preserve her honor. After removing her mask, she reached out and began tapping on the female's right shoulder. She was careful to avoid shaking the female, and to avoid breaking the skin which she had found to be much thinner than she would have thought possible. It took several moments of this before the female's eyes slowly opened with a groan. The ooman blinked rapidly several times as she obviously tried to clear her mind and her sight. Then, the ooman focused on her, and R'ka-thwei flexed her mandibles in a smile of relief. That relief was short lived when she caught the unmistakable scent of fear, as the ooman began to struggle. She grabbed the ooman's right shoulder firmly and began shaking her head 'no' rather vigorously while growling slightly at the same time.

She was relieved when the ooman quit struggling, and she knew that she needed to inform the female of her condition, but she didn't know the pauk-de ooman language! Then she got and idea. She quickly pointed at the ooman's upper left arm, before tapping a specific point on her own left arm. Then she put both of her fists together before snapping them both down and apart to mimic the act of breaking something. Then she repeated the act with a slightly lower point on her own arm. She kept her focus on the ooman while she went through these actions, and she saw a strange expression on the ooman's face while she did so. But it was when she started doing the same thing in relation to the ooman's ribs that there was a sharp gasp from the female.

"You're saying that my left arm is broken in three places, and that I've got some broken ribs too; right?" Jennifer asked in confusion.

She found it a little hard to think, or focus, but she was _sure_ that the terrifying, and more than slightly hideous _thing_ above her was trying to show her just how badly she was injured. She frowned as she tried to remember how she'd gotten hurt, and suddenly it all came back in a rush. The alien world, the alien prisoners, the attempted rape, the short lived fight, and finally the huge bruiser of a bastard that had thrown her nearly thirty feet through the air with one hand. As soon as she remembered all of that she felt a flash of terror because she felt no pain at all. She knew from past experience that any injury like the ones she'd received would hurt like hell even with _good_ pain killers, so the only thing she could think of was that something had damaged the spinal cord in her neck, and that she was now paralyzed.

Jennifer wasn't even thinking about what she was doing as she closed her eyes and covered them with her right hand. It was when she felt the presence of her hand that she lifted it, and stared at it in total confusion. There was something that wasn't right here. She stared at her own hand for several seconds without really seeing it, as she concentrated on what she could feel. There was the pressure of her head against what she was laying on, along with the same feeling of pressure along her entire body. She tried to move her right foot, and felt not only the movement of her foot, but also that her foot was rubbing against something _really _furry.

She blinked her eyes a few times as she tried to gather her thoughts. Her mind felt strange. It was almost as if her thoughts were coming in slow motion. It was so hard to think for some reason. Jennifer closed her eyes and tried to summon every last bit of willpower that she could muster, and it seemed to help some, but her thoughts still felt as if her mind was filled with thick molasses.

Opening her eyes again, she once more saw the head and face of the _huge_ alien in front of her. The high domed forehead almost looked like a mass of scar tissue, except that there was color in the raised patterns on the alien's head. The eyes were deep set and yellow like a cat or perhaps a wolf. The difference in those eyes was that instead of white around the iris, there was solid black. In place of hair, there were many thick fleshy protrusions that resembled nothing less than huge dreadlocks which had some rather strange beads of gold on them. It was the mouth that was the most disturbing though. There were two large… well… _tusks_, was the only thing she could think of to describe them, that angled slightly downward from the top of each side. There were two more that were twice as long on the bottom of each side and all four of those tusks overlapped in the center of the mouth. The overall aspect was one that was straight out of a nightmare, and Jennifer couldn't stop the chill of fear that ran down her spine as she looked at the alien that was hovering over her.

Suddenly, a slight sound to her left drew her eyes away from the huge alien on her left side, and she saw a second one. It was immediately obvious that this one was smaller, but different as well. Instead of a black and gold coloring, this one was a pale yellow-green with darker green accents. Another difference that was immediately noticeable was that instead of a normal domed head, there was a flat forehead that sloped straight up towards the back of the skull. This second alien was also much smaller. Otherwise, the two were very much alike.

Jennifer's right hand automatically went to her waist to grab one of the weapons that she always wore on duty, only to find nothing there. There was _nothing_ there! Not even a belt, the waistband of her fatigues or even her panties! Shocked into action, she raised her head and looked down at her body. There was a _huge_ discolored bruise that had formed along the entire left side of her body, but more disturbing was all the blackish blood that covered her stomach and sides, and was already drying. Hurt, devoid of any and all weapons with which to defend herself, and also completely naked, sheer panic filled her mind, and she started to scoot away from the two aliens.

R'ka-thwei acted the instant that the female tried to move. She knew that the ooman was scared, because she could easily smell the thick cloying scent of her fear. Her left hand snapped out and pinned the female's right shoulder to the furs beneath to hold the female in place, while she shook her head.

"_Not move! Ooman hurt. Not move. Ooman… safe."_ Kwei-kv'var-de said carefully. He knew that he wasn't very well versed in the ooman language at all, and that he only knew a few dozen words or so, not counting the insults and profanity, but he thought that he might soon be learning more,_ if_ he could get this ooman to be friendly enough to cooperate, and teach him.

That voice! She knew that voice. It was the same voice that had asked her to free the female alien that had been about to be raped! Suddenly, she was taking a more careful look at both of the aliens next to her. These had been the two prisoners! She was certain of it! Jennifer closed her eyes with a small amount of relief. Whatever had happened after she had blacked out, the two had gotten free, and more, they had brought her with them to someplace that they believed was safe.

She was then struck by how strange the words sounded. She remembered that the alien didn't have any lips, and that it had mispronounced a sound or two the first time she'd heard it speak, so why was it able to speak so clearly now? She replayed the sounds in her mind, and realized that he _had_ made the proper sounds; it was just that _she_ hadn't heard them clearly. It was perfectly understandable when she finally thought about it, given the growling nature of the alien's voice.

Opening her eyes once more, Jennifer looked again at the smaller alien on her left. There were several slashing scars on the alien's torso, which was thick with large and bulging muscles. The alien was squatted down on the balls of the feet, and her eyes were drawn to the strange loincloth that the alien wore. Then her eyes went wider as she realized that the loincloth was bulging in a way that told her this was a male. Suddenly she was acutely aware of her nude condition, and she tried to cover herself.

R'ka-thwei had been watching this ooman female intently. She wanted to know everything she could about the tiny being that had rescued her from the clutches of the dishonorable males. It was when the female tried to cover her genitalia while staring at the smaller Yautja that she realized the female was still being stared at by a male when she was not dressed.

"You need to stop staring at her while she's naked." She ordered in a slight growl without even bothering to turn her head.

"You're right. I'll wait over by the fire pit." He answered quickly as he stood up. Kwei-kv'var-de knew how close the Black Yautja female had come to being dishonorably forced, and he was sure that she would now be extremely wary of _any_ male for a while. He also knew that she was now going to be _very_ protective of the ooman female while that ooman was incapacitated by injury. With no wish to be killed or severely injured, he stepped away from the both of them.

Right after the male left her immediate presence, the ooman seemed to relax a little. That was good, since a relaxed state would allow the healing serum to have a much greater effect. R'ka-thwei reached over and picked up her battle mask, before putting it on. She cycled through the visual modes until she could view the ooman's internal organs. The healing serum that had been applied directly to the damaged areas, had effectively stopped all of the internal bleeding, and within a few moments, it would be safe to move the ooman, if it was done carefully.

"I'll take her into the next chamber to get her cleaned up. While I do that, would you be willing to take this fur out to the sea and clean it up some, since I'll have her in there?" R'ka-thwei asked quietly.

"I can do that, but where should I put it to dry? If I leave it outside, it would be a clear signal that at least one of these caves are occupied." Kwei-kv'var-de replied reasonably.

"I don't know. That didn't occur to me." She answered quickly, glad that this male was thinking of proper concealment as she started looking around her cave.

"There. Hang it in front of the tunnel entrance to dry." R'ka-thwei finally answered.

"Excellent idea! That will help stop or muffle any sounds that we might make, so they aren't so noticeable from outside." Kwei-kv'var-de replied quickly.

R'ka-thwei narrowed her eyes at the much smaller male as she stared at him in sudden suspicion. "Why are you so concerned about concealing the location of my home?"

"Revealing the location of this cave so that others might find you would be highly dishonorable after you have graciously allowed me to enter. There is also the fact that I am now stranded on this world. I can see that having an ally is important here. You and the ooman are the only two I know on this planet. I've been here less than a ten day, and already, I've been subjected to the dishonorable actions of others. If you will accept me as an ally, then I will gladly contribute whatever can be salvaged from my ship. The armory was stripped bare of all awu'asa, but the equipment for repair still remains. The medical room is also still fully stocked, and the ship's computer can still be accessed from the library." Kwei-kv'var-de reasoned quickly.

He didn't want to seem like a beggar, even though he knew that what he was asking was an incredibly _huge_ favor, and this Black Yautja female really had no real reason to trust him.

"Why should I allow this? How do I know that you won't try the same thing they did?" R'ka-thwei retorted immediately.

"Because not only do I have more honor than that, but I am now forced to wield the same shattered blade that you have. You have the advantage of size and strength. You said that you were sent here right after your Chiva, I completed my own Chiva thirty one years ago, which gives me some advantage in experience. By working together we would be less likely to be overcome by others. Besides, I too owe the ooman female a debt of honor, and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to repay that debt." Kwei-kv'var-de told her bluntly.

"You may stay then. I'll get the ooman bathed, and I'll let you know before we come out." She replied.

Kwei-kv'var-de looked at the Black Yautja in confusion. "Come out of where?"

"My bathing chamber. There is a pool of water to bathe in. Once I have bathed myself and the ooman, you may use the pool to bathe as well. While you are doping so, I'll prepare some meat for a meal." She answered plainly.

The young hunter knew that his mandibles had gone slack from total surprise as he stared at the large female in disbelief. "You really _have_ made a comfortable home out of this cave!"

R'ka-thwei declined to respond to that comment, because she didn't want pity from the small male, but she knew that she had made as many improvements as she could think of to make the cave livable. But, now she had a reason to be concerned. After being on the run for four years, and living alone in this cave for another half year, she suddenly found herself with not one but two others sharing it with her. She was not sure that she would be able to adapt to the sudden change easily.

Turning her attention back to the ooman female, she saw that the female had her eyes closed, and thought that the female might have fallen back to sleep. As soon as she touched the female's shoulder to prepare to wake her, the ooman opened her eyes.

"Tell her that I'm going to take her into the next chamber and give her a bath." R'ka-thwei instructed quickly since she didn't want the female to cause further injury by struggling.

"I would, but I don't know those words. I only know a little of her language, and some of it is not easy to say." Kwei-kv'var-de answered.

R'ka-thwei shook her head and began to gently ease her hands under the ooman female to lift her up. Instantly the sharp tang of fear assailed her sense of smell in a sharp acrid odor. She knew that the ooman female couldn't be strong enough to effectively resist her strength when healthy, but while injured like this, any attempt to fight would only aggravate already severe injuries. She decided that the move should be done quickly and smoothly to prevent any further injury to the female.

"_Not move. Ooman safe. Ooman not move._" Kwei-kv'var-de directed to the smaller female quickly as he saw what was about to happen.

Although she wasn't the slightest bit sure of any of this, Jennifer knew that she really wasn't in any condition to fight against it either. She couldn't help going somewhat stiff from fear as the huge alien lifted her up and carried her. The trip was short, and she was taken past a hanging piece of leather, into a much smaller and slightly warmer cave, where she was gently laid down on another piece of fur.

Jennifer turned her head to look around the smaller cave and saw the large pool of water, along with a good sized fire nearby. There were a couple of dozen rocks the size of her head that were actually _in_ the fire itself, and she frowned as she tried to figure that one out. Looking back at the alien that had brought her here, she saw the alien stripping down to bare skin. Then the alien retrieved a set of strange looking ivory tongs before getting one of the rocks from the fire and dropping it in the pool of water.

As soon as the rock hit the water, that water began to sizzle and boil as the heat was transferred to the water. The process was being repeated with hot rocks, while the cooled rocks were placed back in the fire. Soon, Jennifer could see slight trails of steam rising from the pool, and her mouth fell open at the ingenuity that she had just been witness to. Suddenly, she realized that it couldn't be too much different from the way her ancestors had made steam in their sweat lodges, and she had to smile in appreciation at just how effective the method really was.

"I guess this means it's bath time now, huh?" Jennifer asked offhandedly with a glance towards the female alien as she slowly started to relax after being moved in the way she had. She was thoroughly surprised that being moved hadn't been painful, because she was positive that with the broken bones that she'd been told she had sustained that it should have been excruciating.

The alien tilted her head and let out a rather strange combination of growls and almost bird like trills, while looking at her. Jennifer was sure that the alien probably hadn't understood her, but it wasn't really important, so she let the subject drop. Besides, what she really wanted to know was the reason she wasn't in pain, and if she was actually as injured as she had been shown.


	8. Chapter 8

INTSTM 8

As soon as she had the pool of water heated to a comfortable temperature, R'ka-thwei stopped adding heated rocks to it. She carefully lifted the small female and sat down in the pool with the female in a sitting position in her lap. As soon as the ooman's body was placed in the hot water, the small female released a long and loud hiss, while going completely stiff at the same time. She'd heard the previous sounds that had been made by the ooman, and though she had no idea what their meaning was, she was sure that they weren't sounds of discomfort. _This_ sound, on the other hand, was much like something she would have made in response to pain. Looking down at the female whose head was against her right arm, she saw that the face was contorted by the muscles beneath the skin. That was when she realized that the water might be too hot for the ooman, and she started to stand up to get the ooman out.

As soon as she felt herself being lifted out of the water, Jennifer reacted. "_No_! No, the water's hot, but I'll get used to it. It'll just take me a few minutes." She said quickly while shaking her head, and putting her right hand on the alien's shoulder to get her to stop what she was doing.

R'ka-thwei froze in mid move when the female appeared to protest. Although she had no idea what the ooman was saying, there was no mistaking the intent behind the negative shake of her head, and the single finger of the ooman's left hand pointing down at the water in a motion that said to go that way. Lowering herself back down, she kept a sharp eye on the ooman, both out of curiosity and concern. More hissing noises were made by the ooman as she eased herself and the ooman in her arms back into the water. She would have stopped when she heard that hiss, except for the emphatically nodding head and the left hand pointing repeatedly at the water. Once she was seated and the level of the water reached her elbows, the ooman took a few deep breaths and released them slowly.

Suddenly, she realized _exactly_ why the ooman was acting this way! The water must be just hot enough to be uncomfortable, but not something that couldn't be adjusted to. She remembered reacting the same way to some of the heated healing baths before her exile. R'ka-thwei flexed her mandibles in a light smile as she realized what the ooman was doing. In spite of the obvious physical differences between them, it somehow made the ooman female seem more…_Yautja_ in her mind.

As she began to get used to the _very_ hot water of the bath, Jennifer began to use her right hand to wipe away the dried blood from her stomach. That was when she felt the newly added scar going down the center of her abdomen. Shock and disbelief warred with concern as she jumped out of the alien's arms and stood up to better examine her body.

The moment she jumped from the alien's arms, she plunged into the water that was just over her head. The sudden exposure to the intense heat that was now blasting at her face caused her to lunge for the side of the pool. An instinctive reaction, Jennifer didn't even pause to think or consider her actions as she propelled herself out of the water and propped herself on the edge of the pool. She used both hands to wipe the water and wet hair out of her eyes, before she looked once more at her stomach. She was more than a little concerned by the newly formed and mostly healed scar tissue that met her gaze, and she looked up at the alien woman in confusion, knowing that an explanation wasn't likely, but still hoping for one anyway.

R'ka-thwei had been startled by just how fast the ooman female had reacted, both in leaving her arms, and in getting out of the pool. She watched as the female began to inspect her body, and examined the still healing scar on her stomach closely. When the female looked up at her, she didn't need to know how to speak, or even understand the ooman language to know that the ooman wanted some kind of explanation. She thought carefully about what she could do to let this ooman know that she had been severely injured, when she got an idea.

R'ka-thwei held her right hand up with her fingers spread in a signal to stop. Then she got out of the pool and moved towards the flap of leather that covered the entrance to the bathing chamber. Poking her head out she saw that the main cave was empty, and that the top layer of fur was gone from her sleeping nest. She assumed that the male was outside cleaning it, so she grabbed an injector filled with healing serum, and ducked back into the bathing chamber. She sat down facing the ooman, and held up the injector, intending to demonstrate how the serum inside worked. She didn't get the chance. R'ka-thwei watched in disbelief as the ooman female began backing away from her with wide eyes and a sharp acrid scent of fear emanating from her, while staring at the injector.

"Oh no! Hell no! You just keep _that_ damned monster away from me!" Jennifer exclaimed in a near shout when her back was against the wall of the cave. The strange glowing blue fluid in the weird syringe was bad enough, but that needle? _That_ was a different story altogether! She'd seen needles that were used on horses and cattle, and this thing positively _dwarfed_ those! About four inches long and as thick as a sixteen penny nail, there was no _way_ that she was going to let this alien stick her with _that_ monstrous thing!

R'ka-thwei tilted her head and looked at the female steadily to make sure that she had the ooman's attention. Once she was certain that the female wasn't looking anywhere else, she slowly and deliberately used the claw on the tip of her left index finger to create a small puncture wound in her right arm. She could see that the ooman was watching in a strange sort of fascination, just as she would have done if made to watch another wound themselves for no apparent reason. But R'ka-thwei _had_ a reason! After making sure that the female saw the wound and that it was deep, she grabbed the injector and allowed a few small drops of healing serum to visibly land on the wound. Instantly, there was the deep burning sensation that accompanied the function of the serum, and within moments the wound was nearly completely healed with only a fresh scar to show that it had ever existed.

Moving closer to the ooman, she laid the injector down and slowly reached out to take the ooman's right arm in her hand. Then she slowly and deliberately moved the claw of her right index finger to place the tip against the ooman's skin. She watched the female's face closely, and quickly plunged her claw partway into the ooman's arm, before withdrawing it. Then, without letting go of the rather fragile arm in the grasp of her left hand, she picked up the injector and allowed a few drops to land on the wound.

R'ka-thwei flared her cranial tendrils in response to the female's reaction. The ooman's body tensed up, her teeth bared, and she hissed almost angrily as she stared at her arm. Within a brief moment the female was shaking tensely, and appeared almost ready to attack. But then the female began to gradually calm down, and she saw that she could soon try to show this female through hand signals just how gravely she had been injured.

Jennifer sat in the pool of water that was still quite hot and eyed the alien warily. She wasn't completely certain that she had truly understood what the alien woman had tried to show her, but if what she _did_ understand was even partially true, then she must have been _very_ close to death. Every time she took a look at the small scar that was no larger than a cigarette burn would be, she couldn't help but remember how her arm had felt just a short time earlier. It had been a pain filled experience that she most certainly didn't want to repeat. Whatever that medication was… it had felt like molten steel as it entered the small wound in her arm. She was almost sure that the hand signs the alien had made after her arm stopped hurting, indicated that she'd had internal injuries as well as broken bones. As much as she didn't want to believe any of it, Jennifer couldn't deny just how fast that painful crud had healed the puncture in both her arm, and that of the alien.

Jennifer looked again at the small newly formed scar on her arm, and knew that if this alien woman hadn't done the same thing to herself first, that there was no way she would have allowed such a thing to be done to her. There were a lot of questions that she wanted to ask, but the language barrier made that impossible. So the only thing she could do now would be to try to make the best of the situation. After her arm had healed, the alien had gestured to the pool of water once more, and Jennifer hesitantly got back in to clean herself up.

After she had gotten the drying blood off of her, the alien had gotten a couple lengths of leather cord, and used them in an odd fashion to get some measurements of her body. The alien was now messing with several pieces of hide to make some things. Jennifer didn't really pay any attention to that, because the grim reality of her situation had finally struck her.

She had no clue as to exactly _how_ it had occurred, but she was positive that the process of getting her to this alien world had not been instantaneous. Therefore, she knew that as far as the United States Government was concerned, she was now AWOL with a _Top Secret_ prototype, and would most certainly be charged with High Treason, Espionage, and grand theft, not to mention being labeled as a traitor to her country for all time. And all of it had happened for reasons that she couldn't explain or even get any answers to.

Loyal, and faithful to a fault, Jennifer had always put her service to her country before her personal life. That had been one of the primary causes of her breakup with her girlfriend two months prior, and her boyfriend had dumped her at about the same time, because he claimed that he didn't want someone with a gaping hole caused by being fisted by a lesbian. He had been exceptionally cruel when he'd said that and many other things, and it had hurt far more than she had intended to let on. Then, with no one at home to share her life with, she had begun to pour herself into her duties with the Corps. Loyalty, Honor, and Respect were more than just words among those who served in the Marines; they were the very principles that comprised a way of life. Even with the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, it was a philosophy which had allowed her to keep herself together, when her personal life had gone straight to hell. Now, she didn't even have the friendship, camaraderie, or companionship provided by her fellow Marines to rely on. Instead, she was stuck on an alien world, with a pair of aliens that she couldn't really understand, and would even be considered a traitor if she ever did make it back to Earth. After all, what was she going to tell her superiors? That she'd been abducted by aliens, and taken to another world? Yeah… that would be as believable as claiming to be the Easter Bunny, or Santa Claus. All of these thoughts combined, made her realize that she could never go back to Earth again.

'_I guess I might as well try to make the best of this.'_ Jennifer thought sadly with tears forming in her eyes as she realized that the life she'd had was now truly gone. Not wanting to be seen crying over circumstances beyond her control, she slid beneath the water and scrubbed at her hair for a moment before surfacing again. She stared blankly at the surface of the water almost unseeing while in a state of near shock. She idly noticed that the alien woman used a pair of tongs to add another couple of small boulders the size of Jennifer's head to the water to maintain the level of heat in the pool, before going back to whatever she was making.

A short time later, the alien motioned for her to come over to where she was sitting, while making some odd words that almost sounded more growled than actually spoken. Deciding that this would be a perfect time for at least one introduction, Jennifer pointed to herself and stated her name.

"_Dedidurrr…_" The alien said before quickly shaking her head in the negative, and Jennifer was struck by how universal such an act seemed to be.

"_Jedifurrr…_"

Shaking her head 'no', Jennifer stated her name again, this time a little more slowly and carefully. "Jen-ni-fer!"

"_Jennifurrr…_"

Although it still wasn't quite right, it was close enough to be easily recognized as her name, and she decided that she could teach them at least one nick name later. Pointing her open hand at the alien woman, she lifted her eyebrows in silent questioning.

R'ka-thwei tilted her head in intense curiosity as the ooman female made one part of her face rise in relation to the rest of it. She had no idea how the female had managed such a thing, nor did she have the slightest idea what it might mean. The extended hand, on the other claw, was a fairly obvious sign that the female wanted her to state her own name.

"R'ka-thwei."

"_Rock-all-the-way._"

The ooman female then said something else that she couldn't hope to make sense of. The ooman had a _very_ strange expression on her face and the subtle shaking of the female's head told her that the female knew that she hadn't gotten it right. Snorting in slight amusement, she tried again.

"_R'ck-ah The-way…_"

R'ka-thwei shook her head, and gestured in a 'come here' motion for the female to try again.

"_R'ka The-way…_"

R'ka-thwei huffed to keep from laughing at the female's efforts. She knew that the female was indeed trying to say her name properly, but it just wasn't coming out right. It was much the same when she tried to say the ooman's name. She knew that her own effort had not been entirely correct, but the female had been willing to accept the effort anyway, and all without taking offense. Suddenly the female began speaking again, while pointing at herself.

"Jennifer Allison Greer. Jenny. Jen. JAG."

R'ka-thwei flexed her mandibles in disgust as she shook her head. There was no _way_ that she was going to be able to pronounce _that_ mouthful!

Then the female started repeating each word while holding up a finger for each sound. The first word was three sounds and fingers; the second word was also three, and so on. Then the female made the first three words again, while emphasizing the first sound of each. Then she made the first sounds of each word and held up a finger for those sounds. When the female put those three sounds together, R'ka-thwei suddenly understood what the female was doing! The ooman was trying to show her several versions of a shorter name that she might be able to pronounce! She thought about the sounds carefully before she made her attempt.

"_Jen... JAG..._"

The female slapped her hands together in a way that resulted in a fairly loud noise, and bared her teeth in a way that was much like a challenge. What threw her off though, and made her think that this strange response _wasn't_ a challenge was the nodding of the female's head, and the number of other words that was being said by the female.

"Yes! That's it! You got it. Jen or JAG. Either one works just fine with me, since I've been called by both; so I'm used to it." Jennifer exclaimed excitedly.

Then, _Jen_ did that strange thing with her face again, by making part of it go higher, and took a deep breath before gesturing at her. Deciding that since this ooman female had honored her by allowing the use of a much shorter, and therefore more personal, familiar, and intimate version of her name, she could not, in honor, do otherwise.

"R'ka."

"_R'ka…_"

"Sei! Ngyot." R'ka replied when Jen or JAG said the first part of her name correctly. She was sure that it couldn't have been any easier for the ooman to speak her name than had been for her to say the ooman's name. But now, at least, they could call each other by a name that would be recognized, and that was an important beginning. Another important beginning would be when she gave the female the clothing she had made to replace that which she'd had to damage while tending to the female's injuries. She picked up the apparel and handed it to her new companion.

Jennifer accepted the small pile of leather and shook it out to examine it. What she found was a strange bikini top, a thong style panty, and a loincloth. Each of the articles of clothing were the same kinds of things that R'ka had been wearing when she'd been carried in here. What was _really_ weird though, was how the stuff felt in her hands.

'_This is even softer than top quality silk!'_ She realized in amazement. She quickly stood up; because she just _had_ to try to stuff on to make sure that it would fit. There was no elastic band for the thong style panties, but there were small strips of cord at each hip so that it could be tied on in a way similar to some of the swimsuits that she'd often worn to a beach. The top was almost exactly like that of a bikini top, except that there were no strings to go around her neck. The loincloth was what she had a little trouble with, but R'ka was nice enough to show her how to put that on, and how to position it. Unable to suppress her reaction, Jennifer lunged forward and gave the giant alien woman a brief hug of gratitude.

"Thank you! These are very nice, and _incredibly_ soft. Thank you, I really like it." Jennifer said with a smile as she nodded her head.

Once again, R'ka was very confused by the ooman's actions. The bared teeth once again seemed like it might be a challenge of some kind. And the way that the ooman had wrapped those arms around her had seemed like a prelude to a fight or at least some type of hostile action. But then there was the way that those actions had been very brief, and the nodding of approval that accompanied more words, with her teeth _still_ bared. She wasn't sure if that was a challenge or not, but she flared the tendrils on the sides and back of her head to let the female know that a challenge would _not_ be tolerated!

Jennifer stared in slight confusion when those dreadlock looking things seemed to puff out a little. She could see that they weren't actually hair, so what were they, and how had the alien done that?

"Do that again!" She exclaimed quickly, as she used her hands to mimic the flaring motion made by the alien.

Now R'ka really _was_ confused! This female seemed to want her to _repeat_ the flaring of her tendrils in a way that comprised a direct threat. Her lower mandibles began to twitch from the stress of dealing with this strange female as she did what the ooman seemed to be asking. Instead of responding to the visual challenge with aggression as expected, Jen seemed to be moving closer while apparently completely focused on her tendrils for a better look at what she was doing. R'ka leaned back slightly so she could keep an eye on this strange female named 'Jen'.

Jennifer didn't realize just how close she'd gotten to the alien, until the woman leaned back a bit. That was when she finally got a good look at who, and more importantly _what_ she had nearly died to rescue.

The alien woman in front of her was immensely huge, and had to be nearly three times her height. Large, but deep set eyes had a rich golden iris, and the part that was normally white on a human was just as black as the pupil. The rough textured skin of the forehead was also black in color, but had raised areas that were almost the same rich golden color as her eyes. The tentacle looking appendages that took the place of hair were a glistening jet black, reached down to the level of the collarbone, and were decorated with various bands of gold. The general appearance was one that was both radically different, but at the same time, disturbingly similar to that of a human. The real difference though, was that this woman was _huge_!

The head and face were three times the size of her own, and the breasts…

'_Good God! What kind of bra does she use for those things? Those jugs are big enough that they'd need their own time zone!'_ Jennifer thought in disbelief.

Jennifer's gaze went steadily lower, until her attention was drawn to the hands of the alien woman. Reaching out she grabbed the woman's right hand and pulled it towards her. Her motions were slow, almost cautious, because she clearly remembered being lifted and thrown with a single hand by one that was slightly smaller than the one she was currently looking at. She turned the alien's hand palm up and placed her own along one edge. Then she put her left hand next to her right, before moving her right hand just on the other side of her left. This woman's hand was as large as three of hers!

A closer look at the hand revealed curved claws at the tips of each finger that were about an inch long. The palm of the hand was a slightly lighter shade of color that was a charcoal grey in tone. Leaning forward to look at the skin of the arm, Jennifer saw that the skin wasn't exactly like hers, but had a slight pebble like texture to it.

Suddenly, Jennifer realized that not only was she fully clothed while standing next to an alien, but that she was examining the naked body of that same alien. She flushed with embarrassment as she took a step back. Then, Jennifer held her arms straight out to her sides, and began turning around to show off the fit of the clothing, and by the time she was facing the alien woman again, she was looking down at the clothing that she was wearing.

R'ka stared at the female named Jen in complete disbelief! _Never_ had she been presented with such blatant forms of a challenge to a fight to the death! Even as her anger mounted at the way the ooman female offered the first challenge by spreading her arms to show that she needed no weapons to obtain her victory, the female presented a further challenge and insult by turning her back. It was as if the ooman were saying that she was so insignificant and such an unworthy opponent that she could turn completely away without concern!

Once the female turned back towards her, R'ka was more than ready to fight, but the ooman _still_ wasn't looking at her! Instead, the female appeared to be… _admiring the clothing?_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Notes: My apologies for not updating some of my other stories as fast as this one is going. The thing is, I tend to like LONG chapters, so much so in fact, that EVERYTHING that has been posted in this story so far, was originally a PART of what I considered an INCOMPLETE first chapter! Yeah, more than 30 thousands words, and still one chapter one! I did say that I like LONG chapters… right? Okay, good. That being said, the same is true for the other AVP stories that I've recently posted. Everything was part of the first chapter, and someone FINALY convinced me to break them up into smaller chapters of about 3,000 words, and post them. So I did. I have not stopped working on them, or any of my other stories. In fact I have about 30 in progress at this moment. If I hit that dreaded "Writer's Block" on one, then I switch to another, until the block is gone. So for those of you waiting patiently for an update on another story, it WILL happen, (I'm too damned stubborn to know how to quit!) but it will take some more time.**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Khalthar **_

Not entirely sure what was going on, R'ka took a deep breath and carefully examined the scent that came to her. She detected stress, and even the faint traces of blood that were contained in the female's scent, but she couldn't understand why there was no scent or sign of hostility, or anger in that scent. Completely bewildered by the ooman's strange and confusing actions, she decided that she needed some advice on how to deal with this ooman. There was only one source of information available, and that was the Yautja male. Deciding that she desperately needed more information pertaining to the ooman that was now living in her cave, R'ka-thwei donned her clothing quickly, and stepped into the main cavern. She noted that she was followed by the female ooman.

"What do you know about ooman customs?" R'ka-thwei demanded without hesitation.

"Um… Not very much actually, but I do know a little. Why?" Kwei-kv'var-de answered in surprise.

"Does spreading one's arms, turning one's back, or baring one's teeth mean something different to them than it does to us?" R'ka supplied irritatedly.

"I can't say anything about spreading the arms or turning the back, because I haven't heard anything about that. But I _do_ know that oomans have more than one reason for baring their teeth. One reason shows anger, or pain, and another is supposed to show happiness or friendship. I couldn't tell you which is which though, because I've never seen ooman expressions." Kwei-kv'var-de replied with a shrug. "Why are you asking this?" He inquired curiously.

"Because that strange _creature_ has done all three to me, and yet I detect no anger in her scent!" R'ka-thwei replied in frustration. "If I'd caught the slightest _hint_ that she was being hostile in her scent, I'd have killed her instantly! But the way she smelled, and acted while she was making those challenges was anything _but_ hostile! I don't even know if she's insulting me, or thanking me!"

"My apologies, but unless I'd seen it for myself, I don't know what to tell you." Kwei-kv'var-de told her honestly. He was about to say more, but he stopped when the ooman in question stepped past him to look at the large fur that he'd just finished hanging across the entrance to the main section of the cave.

Jennifer stepped forward to look at the large and dripping wet hide that had obviously just been hung to dry. As she did, she couldn't help but notice the very large and much darker stain that covered a fair portion of it. A single touch of that stain with her left hand, and some of the nearly black substance came off on her fingers. She didn't need to be told, because she knew at once what it was. She knew right away that the blood didn't belong to the alien, because it wasn't neon green, and it didn't glow. Jennifer's shaking right hand went to her mouth even as her left sort of hovered there in front of her while she stared in mute horror at what she knew was her own blood. She couldn't move, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from the result of what she knew had to have been a near fatal loss of blood.

R'ka watched the odd female carefully as she approached the now hanging hide. She had no idea what the ooman would do next, and she was still curious to know what the female's prior actions had meant. It wasn't until the ooman touched the hide that she smelt it. It was the ooman's blood; a thick and cloyingly sweet metallic scent, which was immediately being overpowered by the smell of the ooman's fear. She stepped forward, intending to confront the female, but paused when the female turned to reveal her features.

The normally yellow coloration of heat that suffused the ooman's face was rapidly fading to orange as the heat providing blood drained from the female's face. The female was also breathing very raggedly, and apparently trying to speak, but no sounds seemed to be emerging. Somehow the ooman knew that her blood had covered most of the hide, before it had been stirred up enough to release the scent.

"She knew her blood was on that fur! She knew it even before it could be smelled!" R'ka exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm not really sure how that could be possible. From what I've heard, oomans have very poor senses of smell and hearing. I have been told that they have a radically different type of sight that does not use heat at all, but a different part of the EM spectrum. With that being the case, she might have seen the blood." Kwei-kv'var-de answered after thinking about it for a moment.

"Even if she had seen it, how could she have known that it was her blood and not yours or mine? And why is she so frightened?" R'ka retorted instantly.

"She probably knew it was hers because neither of us have been injured enough to lose that much blood. I have been told that oomans have _very_ primitive medical techniques. They actually _sew_ a wound closed and allow it to heal naturally…" Kwei-kv'var-de began in a thought filled tone.

"She would have died if we had even _tried_ methods like that!" R'ka exploded angrily.

Kwei-kv'var-de felt his mandibles drop as he glanced at the ooman who was still in a state of shock. "That's probably what's got her so scared right now. If she'd been treated by the methods of her own kind, then she would already be dead, and I think she knows it."

R'ka-thwei looked at the very frightened female for a moment before she got an idea. Turning back to her sleeping nest, she snatched up all five of the expended vials of healing serum, along with the injector that still had a partial vial in it, and stepped over to the female. Tapping the female on her right shoulder made her jump in surprise, but as soon as the female turned to face her, R'ka showed her the empty vials. She took the partial vial out of the injector to let the ooman female see that they were the same. Pointing to the now empty vials, and then to the injuries, she tried to tell the ooman that she had been treated properly.

Jennifer stared blankly at the empty tubes that were being held in front of her face. Suddenly she was looking down at the thin and barely visible, but fresh scar on her stomach, along with the one along the left side of her rib cage. Then she looked back at the empty tubes, before glancing up at the face of the alien woman.

"Jesus! You had to use _all_ of that on me?" Jennifer exclaimed in a near whisper of shock.

She knew from the sheer size of the blood stain alone, that her injury had been serious, but having seen a first hand example of just how fast the alien medication had worked on her arm, combined with the number of tubes that had been used on her, gave her a fair idea of just how close to death she'd actually been. It was not a pleasant thought or realization to know that she should by all rights be dead right now, and that only the efforts of these two aliens had allowed her to survive. It came as quite a shock to Jennifer to realize that she now owed her very life to a pair of aliens that she couldn't even thank properly. The possibility of doubting that these aliens had in fact saved her life, and that they were not trying to pull some sort of scam, was born out by the memory of just how much pain she had been in while setting the female free of her restraints. She distinctly recalled how agonizing it had been simply to draw breath, and how it had felt almost impossible to make that last effort before passing out entirely.

Suddenly, Jennifer shook her head and made a rueful sound that was half snicker, and half snort of disbelief. She knew that the intense training that she'd been through had toughened her up, but she'd never been given a single clue that she had been made into someone so stubborn, and so determined as to be able to accomplish what she had done while actually in the process of dying. The realization gave her a new found and tremendous amount of respect for what the Marines had achieved.

The smaller, male alien had taken the bloodstained hide back out of the cave, and Jennifer was sitting against one wall as she watched the female named R'ka cook several large chunks of meat over an open fire that was in a recessed part of the wall and even had a natural chimney of sorts. It was without a doubt, one of the strangest, yet very comfortable places to live that she'd ever seen. That this cavern had been occupied for a fairly long while was evident in the soot that was caked all over the fire place, the numerous furs that covered the floor of the cavern, and the various skulls that were situated along the walls.

The smell that was beginning to rise from the roasting meat made Jennifer salivate like mad. Even though she could see that the meat was still mostly raw, she was still sorely tempted by the incredibly appetizing aroma coming from it. She got up and moved closer to the fireplace to get a much better nose full of that _wonderful_ smell.

"I don't know what spices you've got on that _R'ka_, but it smells amazing!" Jennifer said with a huge smile, while pointing at the cooking meat.

R'ka-thwei looked over at the ooman female curiously as she tried to understand what was going on. None of the odd words of the ooman made any sense to her, but she had the feeling that the ooman was commenting on her cooking.

"I don't know what you just said, but I think the meat smells good, and it will taste even better." R'ka-thwei replied.

Just then, the tiny female leaned in closer to the cooking meat and inhaled deeply, before sticking her tongue out and running across those strange flaps of skin around her mouth, and baring her teeth again. R'ka-thwei shook her head in irritation. What she wouldn't give to know whether that facial expression was a challenge or not.

"It seems that the ooman likes the smell of your cooking, R'ka-thwei. I have to agree with her, that is a _truly_ wonderful scent. What kind of meat is it?" Kwei-kv'var-de asked enthusiastically as he began to hang the now thoroughly cleaned fur above the entrance tunnel.

"I don't know the actual name of the creature, but I call it a 'Slime Beast' because its entire body is coated in a very thick slime which is a contact poison, and is very deadly and fast acting, even on us." R'ka-thwei answered easily. "The hide makes the softest leather you will ever find, and even dried, the meat will not last for long, because it contains too much moisture. But it is the most _delicious_ thing I've ever eaten!"

"If the smell from it being cooked is anything to judge by, then I have no doubts that it will be one of the finest things I've ever tasted." He told her truthfully.

"Holy shit!"

The rather soft exclamation drew the attention of both Yautja to the ooman female who was staring at an object that was laid alongside one wall of the cave.

Jennifer knew _exactly_ what it was that she was looking at. After all, being of Apache descent, and having been taught some of the traditions of her heritage, she couldn't help but recognize the long bow for what it was. The difference was that _this_ one was at least _twice_ the size of any that she'd ever laid eyes on! She knew just by looking at it, that it had to belong to the one named R'ka because it was just too large to be used by anyone else; including that towering bundle of muscle that she hadn't been introduced to.

"Can I take a closer look at this?" She asked while pointing at the huge bow and looking at R'ka with raised eyebrows.

R'ka looked at the ooman female with a curious tilt to her head. She understood that the ooman was commenting on the weapon that she'd built, and she had an idea that the female might want to examine it closer. Thinking that another's opinion on her now treasured weapon might give her some insight on how to either improve the weapon itself, or how to improve her own skill with it, she nodded cautiously. She would certainly keep a sharp eye on the ooman though, because she did _not_ want that weapon damaged in any way.

Jennifer reached out to carefully lift the huge bow from its position on the floor of the cave. She immediately discovered that it was very heavy and that she needed both hands the actually lift it. After carefully standing it on one end, she realized that it was just over twice her height. This thing was incredible! The center grip where it was meant to be held was even thicker than her _upper arm_! She placed the bow at an angle so that one tip was still on the floor while the other ran diagonally above her right shoulder. She knew that there was no way that it would ever be possible for her to use a weapon of such massive size. Even relaxed, the draw string was almost as far from the shaft as her arm was long!

Jennifer blinked and rolled her eyes in stunned disbelief. That was when she spotted the quiver of arrows that went with the bow. She laid the bow gently on the floor and took out one of the arrows to discover that it was longer than she was tall! As thick as two of her fingers, and almost as tall as the shorter alien, even the arrows for this monster were _huge_!

She got a rather stupid grin on her face, and giggled just a little, because she just _had_ to do it! Her grin got even wider as she nocked the arrow in place, and lifted the bow into an angled firing position. Suddenly, she burst out laughing because she wasn't big enough to nock the arrow in the center of the bow the way it was supposed to be done! With a rueful shake of her head, she laid the bow flat on the floor of the cave and placed the arrow in the center where it belonged while still keeping it nocked. Then she stepped back and looked at the overall size. She knew right away that her grandparents would have truly _loved_ to see what she was now looking at! She could tell just by looking at it, that this wasn't some mere token display piece. _This_ was meant to be used. It was _made_ to be used, and somehow, she knew, just _knew_ that it had been used!

There was something about the archaic weapon that seemed to justify everything her ancestors had ever believed, because for such a thing to be in the hands of an alien, who had what appeared to be incredibly advanced technology, meant that they _had_ to honor their traditions, and a traditional way of life. That was something that she could understand, and live with. It was truly an eye opening revelation.

Jennifer un-nocked the arrow, and put the bow gently back in its place along the cave wall. Then she examined the arrow once more. A smooth shaft was to be expected, but the bone tip was a bit surprising. The fletching was another matter entirely; apparently made from some kind of leather that was braced with some kind of short spines from something. She could readily see that it would work, but she couldn't be sure if the result would as good as that provided by feathers. She turned and carefully placed the arrow back in the quiver, and turned to look at R'ka.

'_She knows what those are! How would an ooman recognize a weapon that was stored in the survival guide on my wrist computer?'_ R'ka-thwei thought in surprise, before she looked at the male and asked him those same questions, only to learn that he also had no idea.

"That is really beautiful craftsmanship! My grandparents are full blooded Apache, who prided themselves in honoring their Native American heritage, and I know that they would have _loved_ to discuss the techniques involved in making that lovely set of bow and arrows!" Jennifer said softly with a gesture towards the weapon before the male could respond to the questions that had been asked.

"I'm not sure if the information is in my ship's computer or not, since the ship belongs to my clan, and not to me personally. But I know that there is a program that can translate ooman speech into text that can be read in the HUD of a mask. Since my ship is now worthless to us as a form of transportation away from this planet, may I request your assistance in salvaging what we can from it? I will be glad to give you that program, in exchange. Or, if it isn't in the computer, then I can provide plenty of medical serum in exchange for your help. The machining equipment is also fully functional, and I am well acquainted with its use, so I can also make any repairs to your awu'asa that you might need." Kwei-kv'var-de offered candidly. "If that program _is_ there, then it will enable us to understand what she's saying, and perhaps to allow us to teach her to understand us as well."

R'ka-thwei thought the situation over carefully as she silently studied the male in front of her. Suddenly, she noticed that all indications that he'd been severely beaten by the four males were no longer present, and then there was the matter of his swift arrival which she knew to have been too fast. He suspicions aroused, she decided to ask him straight out.

"If your ship isn't flyable, then how did you get here so quickly?"

"I dosed myself with two vials of healing serum and a vial of pain blocker so that I could make the entire run at top speed." He answered honestly.

"Why? Why would you do such a thing?" R'ka-thwei demanded instantly.

"Because my life was spared by the actions of the ooman female, and _you_ were the one who restored my freedom. I owe a debt to both of you." Kwei-kv'var-de said simply.

"Very well then; in the morning if the ooman female is healthy enough to travel, then we will go to your ship and see what we can do. For now, there is a bathing pool behind that leather curtain. There are several large rocks heating in the fire, use the tongs to drop the rocks in the water. When the rock is cool, put it back in the fire. Repeat the process until the water is the temperature you prefer." R'ka-thwei instructed.

Kwei-kv'var-de's mandibles fell open in stunned shock as he gaped at the Black Yautja female in pure disbelief. "You… you have the ability to take a _hot_ bath?" He demanded in surprise before taking a careful look around. "This might be made from no more than a cave, but you have certainly made it into a truly livable home that even includes a luxury I would never have expected, or even thought possible." He added in awe.

R'ka-thwei's head jerked towards the smaller Yautja as if she'd just been slapped from the other side. She knew that common courtesy demanded that one should complement another on their home when invited into it. _Never_ would she have thought that anyone else would consider her cave to be anything more than a simple and primitive hole in the ground that was used as shelter. She couldn't deny the awe filled voice with which the male had spoken though, and that told her that he'd meant every word.

"Well, it _does_ require some effort to make it the way you prefer, but a hot bath is still a hot bath, and you're welcome to make use of it." R'ka-thwei answered as she moved over to the ooman who was still admiring the weapon she'd made.

Jennifer watched silently as the two aliens spoke with one another. Then the smaller went into the chamber with the bath pool, while the large woman came over to her. She watched as R'ka picked up the bow, grabbed an arrow and nocked it, before drawing the arrow back. Instantly, Jennifer was shaking her head.

"No, no, no! That is _not_ how you're supposed to do it!" Jennifer said quickly when she saw that the stance was all wrong. Then, she stepped back and acted as if she were the one holding a bow, while she assumed the proper stance for shooting accurately.

R'ka-thwei felt her lower mandibles droop in surprise as she looked down at the ooman female who was taking a slightly different pose while mimicking the holding of a weapon exactly like hers. She thought that the much smaller female was trying to show her a more proper stance while using the weapon, but without knowing the ooman language, she couldn't be positive about it. She moved cautiously as she adjusted her body to mirror the stance of the ooman. Golden yellow eyes widened, and her mandibles flared into a grin as she felt the difference in the balance and control of the weapon in her hands. A slight turn away from the weapon, a subtle shift of the feet, a minute adjustment of her arm's position, and she could _feel_ the difference! Now, she truly wanted to be able to talk to this female to learn where she had encountered such a weapon as the one she had, and what more the ooman might know.

Looking down at the ooman female, who barely reached past her knee, R'ka saw the teeth bared once more while the female was nodding her head in what appeared to be a gesture of approval. With no scent of anger detectable, R'ka decided that she would hold off on venting any frustration with the ooman's actions until she knew for sure if the ooman was trying to be offensive or not. She didn't _think_ that the female was being offensive because of the strange actions that had always accompanied the bared teeth. She was sure that the ooman would be fit to travel in the morning, and maybe, just _maybe_ there would be a translation program in Kwei-kv'var-de's ship that she could use to learn about the tiny female. She nodded her head to the ooman female and put the bow back in place before she also placed the arrow back in the quiver. She beckoned to the female with her hand as she stepped over to the fire pit where the meat was now almost ready to eat.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's Notes: This is the last of my prewritten chapters for this story, chapter 11 is underway, and will be posted as soon as it's completed, as will the chapters of my other stories.**_

_**I would like to think each and every last one of you who have left a review for me and others to read. I do send a PM to each signed review, and even try to find those who leave Anon reviews, so I can PM them as well. That doesn't always work, but I thank you none the less. I must say a review is a very inspiring thing.**_

Jennifer's eyes just about bulged out of their sockets when she saw the rather macabre dishes that the food was about to be put into. The somewhat large bowls were obviously made from the domed section of large skulls, and the cups were the ends of an animal's horn that had been wedged into a vertebra to provide a base for them. She looked askance at the dishes for a moment before she took another look around the cave. There were some not so subtle signs that this cave had been occupied for some time. The black layer of soot in the fireplace was a good indicator, which meant that it was entirely possible that these two aliens had ended up here the same way she had. It was a sobering thought, because she could see that some of the equipment that the larger female had been wearing was _very_ high tech. If these two could become stranded with no way home, what chance did that give her of somehow getting back to Earth?

Jennifer shook her head sadly as R'ka placed the bowl in front of her, and wondered just how well she would have done while trying to survive for the rest of her life on a strange world, with nothing but the gear she had on her. She nearly shuddered at the daunting prospect, because she knew that she would never have achieved anything like the cave she was currently in. A slight noise to her left, made Jennifer look over as the shorter male came out of the… well; _bathroom_. She supposed there really wasn't another term to use in regard to a room that only had a tub.

Kwei-kv'var-de released a huge sigh of contentment as he sat down next to the ooman female, and looked over to his left at his host. "R'ka-thwei, you have my most _sincere_ thanks for allowing me to use your bath. A steaming hot soak was something that I would have thought I'd have to give up until I returned home. Had I not experienced it for myself, I'd have believed you to be lying about possessing such a thing. Even at home with my own clan; I've never had the luxury of sitting in hot water that went all the way to my lower jaw! Truly, you have worked wonders in turning this cave into a home that is well worth living in!" He told her honestly.

"I have had a lot of time to make this cave livable, and I can sincerely wish that I had never been forced to find it. I even wish that I had never chosen to take my Chiva." R'ka-thwei replied almost despondently as she recalled the reason for being where she was.

"Why would you wish such things?" Kwei-kv'var-de asked in startled surprise.

"Because if I had been home instead of taking my Chiva, then I might have helped my Bearer kill the bad blood who murdered her…" R'ka-thwei began.

"Or you might have been killed along side her." Kwei-kv'var-de told her firmly.

"If I had been killed with my Bearer, then I would not have been forced to live on this honorless planet for as long as I have! I would not be constantly hunted by the clan who had me exiled here, and I would not have to face being made into a worthless and mindless pauk slave where I wouldn't even be able to _think_ of resisting them!" R'ka-thwei said angrily.

"How long have you been here?" He asked quietly.

"It took me four years to cross the continent to reach this coast, so that I could be down wind of everything except the sea. I found this cave about half a year ago, and I have been working to make it into the best home I can, ever since." R'ka-thwei answered plainly.

"Then you should be near your first breeding season. Once that happens, they will no longer be able to force you into being their slave…"

"My first breeding season is _still_ more than five years away! I had thought that crossing an entire continent would put me out of their search area, but I was wrong!" She interrupted angrily.

Kwei-kv'var-de felt his mandibles droop in horrified shock. This female in front of him was apparently _much_ younger than he'd thought, then he realized something. "You knew that they'd be looking for you!"

"Of course I did! They even boasted of it as I was being led to the ship! I wasn't even given the four days head start that the Council of Arbitrators decreed I was to have. My home, my Bearer, and even the trophies from my Chiva have all been taken from me! I was forced to watch as my trophies were destroyed by their Clan's Matriarch. Now I am exiled to this planet where _no one_ has any honor!" R'ka-thwei said bitterly as she took the meat from the fire.

"That is where you are wrong, R'ka-thwei." Kwei-kv'var-de began quietly. "Whether you realize it or not; whether you believe it or not; you _still_ have honor, I too hold honor in high esteem, and I believe that even this ooman female follows the path of honor. If she did not, then she would have done nothing to interfere with what those bad bloods had been about to do. It is well known that we normal Yautja possess more than twice times the physical strength of an ooman, while your kind has much the same advantage over us. She fought and _killed_ no less than _four_ Black Yautja males, and even with injuries that would have killed her, she struggled against the Dark Hunter himself to free you and restore your honor. Had she been among her own kind, she would never have awakened after she used her weapon to effect your release, and from her behavior earlier, I think she knows it. Even so, she did not allow that to stop her." He told the larger female sincerely.

"How can you say that I retain any honor? It was _stripped_ from me!" R'ka-thwei retorted bitterly.

"_Wrongfully_ stripped from you! I don't know what laws your people have, but among us, you might have been forced to repay the cost of the transport if the bad blood responsible for the death of your Bearer could not be found, but you would _not_ have been exiled here! That is something that would never have happened among the Yautja. By our laws, neither that clan nor that Arbitrator would be seen as having any honor. Those who have no honor can not take honor from another. Then there is the fact that I am here; in your home, as a guest instead of as a prisoner. I know from the history that I have been taught, that our people are enemies. Yet you have treated me with honor, and with courtesy. Therefore, I say that your honor is _intact_." He said sincerely.

R'ka-thwei wasn't exactly sure how to respond to such information. She bought herself time to think of a reply, by serving the meat she'd prepared, and passing around a skin of water for them to drink. "I can understand why you say the ooman female still has her honor, because after what she has done for me, I will never believe otherwise."

"I don't know exactly how the ooman came to be on this world, but I _think_ she might have been brought here to be hunted. Even so, I can honestly thank Lilka that she is here." Kwei-kv'var-de said before he held up his right hand to stave off any interruption from his host. "I say that because while you were unconscious, they told me that they would make me watch what they planned to do to you. That female has restored our freedom, she has preserved your body, and your mind, and she has spared me the disgrace of watching you become a mindless infertile slave. Both of us owe this ooman much, and I can only hope that we will be able to communicate with her."

"Do you think she might be well enough to travel by morning? If she is, then we could go to your ship, and see if that translation program is in your computer." R'ka-thwei asked eagerly. "She seems to know about some things that I would also like to know, and I wish to be able to thank her properly for sparing me the fate that was intended for me."

"She should be healed by then, but given that she's as small as a youngling, I doubt that she'll be able to keep up with me, and I would have trouble keeping up with any pace that you would find comfortable…" Kwei-kv'var-de began seriously.

"_Youngling_? She's still as small as a suckling pup; at least to me anyway! Even standing, she barely reaches past my knee, and if she's as physically weak as you say, then there is no way that she could keep up with either one of us." R'ka-thwei interjected quickly.

"Agreed. Do you think that she might tolerate being carried by one of us?"

"I'm not sure. She didn't appear to be very pleased with that earlier. " R'ka-thwei said seriously as she picked up a piece of meat from her bowl.

"That's true. I wonder if she'll allow it in the morning, because we may need to move quickly if any more of those worthless insects are about." He replied quickly.

"We'll have to wait to find out the answers to both of those questions tomorrow. For now, I just want to eat while the meat is hot. I wasn't given anything during my imprisonment, and I am _starving_." R'ka-thwei said before she bit into the chunk of meat she held.

Jennifer had stayed silent while watching the two aliens. She was almost sure that they were talking, but she didn't have the slightest hope of deciphering their language. She hadn't started eating, because neither of the aliens had started either, and she knew that, on Earth anyway, it was only polite to wait for one's host before beginning. When she saw R'ka take a bite, she picked up the dripping chunk of meat with her fingers and took a tentative bite to see what the stuff tasted like.

Instantly, Jennifer's eyes shot wide at the intensely rich and wonderful flavor that filled her mouth while the meat nearly fell apart in her hands. She hadn't the slightest clue what kind of meat it was, but the incredibly tender, and _unbelievably_ juicy meat was actually better than anything she could remember eating. She leaned over the bowl, as the juices from the chunk of meat began running down her hands and arms. This was even messier than biting into an orange that had only been peeled! In less than a minute, she knew beyond any doubt that there was no neat way of eating this stuff, but as incredibly tasty as it was, she also didn't care. It didn't matter that there was no gravy, potatoes, or anything else to go with it, because what ever this meat was… it was _good_!

Both R'ka-thwei and Kwei-kv'var-de were each somewhat surprised at the fact that the ooman female had waited until the host was able to join in the meal as custom demanded. R'ka was _not_ surprised however, at the reactions of either the Yautja, or the ooman. She remembered all too clearly how she had behaved upon her first taste of Slime Beast, and her own reaction had been much the same. R'ka was noting the delighted sounds from both of her strange guests, when she saw that the ooman female was once again baring her teeth.

"I have no idea what this is; but it's _incredible_! I can only imagine how some mushrooms, peppers, onions, and gravy would go on this." Jennifer said with a wide smile as she gestured at the dripping meat in her hands.

R'ka still wasn't sure if the bared teeth were a challenge or not, and it took a concentrated effort of will to ignore the possible challenge from the female. She narrowed her eyes in frustration, because while bared teeth were definitely a challenge among the Great Yautja, the actions of this ooman female when those teeth were bared was anything _but_ a challenge. She was sure that the female was commenting on the meat, and the quality of its preparation, but some of the ooman's actions were nothing short of confounding.

Jennifer leaned back against the wall of the cave and groaned at how miserably full she was. She hadn't meant to eat nearly as much as she had, and normally wouldn't have eaten half that much, but that strange meat had been just far too tasty and tempting to resist. It had been so good in fact, that she'd completely given up her usual self control and eaten no less than three servings of it. She'd actually devoured more food in this one meal than she would have done on Christmas day!

Jennifer was trying to let her food digest when her eyes fell on her uniform. She crawled over to it, and leaned against the cavern wall. The first item she examined turned out to be her combat boots which were in perfect, but dirty condition. Next she pulled her shirt out of the pile. She could see the long slice going down the left side, along with the bloodstains around the cut. Curious, because she knew that she hadn't been cut during the fight with the four aliens; she examined her left side. There she saw the scar left behind from having her ribs set. She knew that the uniform shirt was a lost cause, so she turned her attention to what else was in the pile.

Jennifer's stomach churned in a tight knot of dismay and apprehension as she looked at the weird netting that was part of the prototype Active Camouflage Unit, or Stealth System, since a proper name still hadn't been decided on. The slice down the left side of the torso meant that it was surely ruined. She knew from the basic info she'd been given on the system that the mesh was actually composed of dozens if not hundreds of microscopically fine wires. Thousands of hours of research, and countless millions of dollars had gone into the development of the wiring alone. The strange electromagnetic field that caused various forms of radiated energy to flow around the system rather than being reflected was created by those impossibly fine wires, and she knew that she didn't have a prayer of mending them. The power and control system of the ACU seemed to be in proper order, but the batteries only had a twenty percent charge left.

Setting the stealth system aside, she examined the rest of her gear. Her desert pattern fatigue pants of her uniform would have been fine except that the waistband had been severed in order to remove them. Her panties and bra had met the same fate as her pants, and were also unusable. Her belt, head wrap, weapon harness, grenades, combat survival knife, socks, MP-5, .44 Magnum, and even her ammunition were all in perfect order. Then she spotted the Air-soft pistol which she'd taken along as part of a bet with her team.

Jennifer recalled betting her men that she could tag each of them with that stupid little pistol before any of them ever knew she was there. It had been a fairly high dollar wager, and there was a _lot_ of professional pride on the line as well as the cash.

Jennifer shook her head sadly as she thought about that bet. She'd been so sure that the new stealth system would let her pull it off, but she would never find out. She still had no idea what had happened to cause her to be on this alien planet, because she couldn't remember anything.

Suddenly, Jennifer stood up and began pulling on the stealth system. She just had to know if it was completely ruined, or if it could still somehow function. Once she had everything in place, she held her breath, muttered a silent prayer to whoever might be listening, and hit the activation stud.

Jennifer gasped at the crackle of energy that resembled nothing less than lightning, and for a moment she thought that it was actually going to work, but then, her brief hopes were destroyed when the system sputtered to a halt. She shut off the power, and removed the suit before dropping it in the pile with the rest of her useless clothing. Tears of frustration filled her brown eyes, and she dashed forward to the one place in the cave where she might have a bit of privacy.

R'ka-thwei had watched in silence as the female ooman examined her things, but when she saw the ooman try to activate the cloak, her mandibles went slack in surprise. _'The cloaking mesh should have been able to handle more damage than that.'_

"Pauk!"

R'ka looked over at the male who'd muttered that single word. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think oomans are supposed to have anything like that." Kwei answered seriously.

"What do you mean, and why not? We've had cloaks for thousands of years." R'ka retorted.

"Yes, we have. But from what I've heard from the Elders, oomans can't even explore their own star system, and they don't have the technology to make a cloak. At least, they didn't have it six years ago when one of my Clan Elders went there to hunt. They don't even know how to make proper metals, how could they have made a cloak?" Kwei replied quickly.

"It doesn't matter if she's supposed to have it or not. I was the one who damaged it, and I can't replace it. I was able to make an acceptable set of clothing for her, after I damaged what she was wearing, but I don't have the knowledge or skills to fix damaged cloaking mesh." R'ka said sadly.

Kwei's mandibles flexed into a sly smile as he reached out and grabbed the female by her shoulder and gave it quick firm shake. "Perhaps you can't, but the repair equipment on my ship is still functional. We _should_ be able to repair the mesh there, and if we can't, then since I see that you collected the awu'asa from the four bad bloods she killed, we can replace her cloaking mesh with one of theirs. It shouldn't be too much trouble to resize one of those suits to fit her, so all isn't lost yet my friend."

"You… you would help me pay such a debt? Why?" R'ka asked in confusion.

"Because I too owe the ooman; and I owe _you_ as well. She nearly died to make it possible, but it was _you_ who severed my bonds and set me free!" Kwei said sincerely. "Besides, she'll need a working cloak if she is to survive on this planet. Those bad bloods are only one of the dangers here." Kwei said firmly.

"After living on this world for more than four years, I know well the dangers of this place. It will not be easy to survive here."

"I'm sure that's true. But now, we have an advantage that others don't. There are now three of us, and though the ooman is small and frail, they are well known to be extremely cunning and _very_ dangerous in spite of that. Then, there is your experience. You _know_ this world, and its dangers better than any other. You have survived. It means that your skills in tracking, stealth, and silent hunting will be very useful, and that's in addition to your obvious size and strength. I myself have some advantage in combat experience, and I can supply whatever resources can be salvaged from my ship. If we can locate the ship those bad bloods arrived in, then we'll have a chance to leave this world once and for all." Kwei said emphatically.

R'ka looked at the male as apprehension flooded her mind. The ideas that suddenly occurred to her were ones that she didn't like at all. "And what will become of me then?" She asked in a soft but wary tone.

"Well, I don't know if the ooman can be returned to her planet or not, but if your mask works the same way ours does, then it will have recorded everything that has transpired, and therefore a case can be made for you to be inducted into my Clan. You are young enough that you could enter training and eventually take a second Chiva to formally join my Clan. I will tell you that I am no high ranking member. I am not the offspring of an Honored Elder or anything like that. I am merely a Blooded Warrior who was allowed the use of a Clan ship for this hunt, but I will argue your case to my Matriarch." Kwei replied honestly.

"What do you think the result would be?" She asked not even daring to hope for a positive outcome.

"I think they would see your honor, and allow you the chance to prove yourself. Show them the same honor that you have shown me and the ooman, and I don't see how they could refuse you."

"You have said it yourself; our races are enemies! Are you now saying that they would not dispose of me simply because of that?" R'ka demanded quickly.

"Only those with no honor do such things, R'ka-thwei. I know that we have been hunting oomans for many of their generations, but I also know that there have been some oomans who have been accepted among the Clans because of their honor and skill. Why should you be any different? You are not a member of a race that is hunted as game or challenge; you are Yautja, and I believe that is what they will consider as they look at you." Kwei told her.

R'ka was about to say something in response to that when she heard a strange sound from her bathing chamber. She noticed that Kwei had heard it too, and they both looked in that direction. "I'll see to her. Feel free to have more to eat, if you like."


	11. Chapter 11

INTSTM 11

As soon as she entered the weird little bath chamber, Jennifer began crying in earnest. Within seconds, a solid stream of tears was running down her face at the thought of everything that was now lost to her. Her home, her family, her career, her team mates, her friends… everything that had ever mattered to her was now somewhere across an impassible distance of interstellar proportions.

As tears continued to flow down her face, Jennifer decided to get a hot soak since that had always seemed to help her mood back home when she needed to sooth her mind. She stripped down and got into the water, and was surprised that it was still fairly hot. She did her best to relax, and try to figure out what she was going to do now, but the overwhelming intensity of her situation got the better of her, and within a few short moments, her tears escalated into outright sobs.

When R'ka entered the bathing chamber, she was immediately assailed by a strong scent of grief coming from the ooman. She saw that the tiny female was sitting in the bathing pool, and that the sound she'd heard was one of sadness. That was something she was very familiar with, and she couldn't help but react to the small size of the female and the grief as she stripped down, got into the pool, and pulled the ooman into her lap.

The ooman Jen seemed to be no larger than a pup as she held the small female to her. R'ka wasn't sure whether it was her size, or simply her presence and attempt to comfort the ooman, but whichever it was; Jen leaned into her and began crying even harder. She held the rather small female for some time, until noticeable shudders began racking the small body she was holding. She had no idea how long she held the ooman female, but eventually the shuddering, and sobbing slowed to a stop. When she looked down to check on the tiny female, she saw that the ooman was actually asleep in her arms.

When she'd been giving the meager amount of medical treatment that she could, R'ka had seen for herself just how frail and fragile the body of the ooman female was. Well aware of the slow but steady drop in the temperature of the water, she silently rose out of it, and carefully sat down by the fire with the female ooman cradled in her left arm. She waited there until both she and the ooman were dry. Then moving cautiously, she replaced the ooman's clothing that she'd made, and donned her own before leaving the bath chamber.

Kwei-kv'var-de was still seated near the fire pit when R'ka emerged from the bathing chamber with the sleeping ooman in her arms. She could see that the smaller male was finishing another piece of the meat she'd cooked, and was obviously as ravenous as she felt. She stepped over to her sleeping nest and gently laid the ooman in her furs before pulling one of the furs to the female's chest.

"She will rest, and sleep here this night. I don't know why, but the sound we heard was one of grief. That combined with her injuries mean that she's in need of rest. After what she's done for me, I will gladly give up my furs to her." R'ka said softly as she resumed her own place by the fire, and selected another cut of meat.

"You don't need to be concerned that I might disturb her. She was nearly killed because of her efforts to restore our honor, and freedom. Replacing damaged cells to heal her injuries are very draining on the body's resources, and she lost a lot of blood while injured, so she _needs_ that rest. Speaking of which… where do you wish me to sleep?" Kwei replied in a whisper before licking the delectable meat juices from his fingers.

"I haven't considered that. The female is now in the only sleeping nest I have…" R'ka answered at a loss because she was unable to offer this male so much as the proper hospitality of an acceptable place to sleep.

"Would you have any objections to my sleeping near the fur hanging over the entrance? The floor there is covered in several layers of fur, so it's far better than the bare rock of this cavern, and you've made it clear as to why you would never have thought to have so much as a single guest join you here, let alone two of them. So don't think that I've found your hospitality lacking in any way R'ka-thwei. You have welcomed me into your home… on a world where you have no allies… you've provided me with the safest place known to you, which is also the only safe place that _you_ have as well! Not only that, but you have provided me a meal that is delicious, and very well prepared, and that doesn't even _mention_ the hot bath!" Kwei said in firm appreciation.

"You have given the ooman female the _only_ sleeping nest available… which is your own. Only one who truly has no honor _at all_ would be able to find any fault with what you've provided for myself and the ooman female." Kwei told her softly. "As I think about this delicious meat, I can only wonder if I would have been strong enough to secure anything for myself this night. I am certain that all of the food stores on my ship have either been destroyed or contaminated in some way that would make them dangerous to consume, which means that what you've provided for me is greatly appreciated, and I am in your debt."

"I didn't do any of this to place you in my debt! I am merely trying to repay what this strange little ooman female has done for me." R'ka grunted sourly.

Kwei chuckled softly as he tried to keep his voice down to allow the ooman to sleep. "I am aware of that, but I think we may all be deeply indebted to each other before this is over. You owe her, _I_ owe her, and I also owe _you_ as well, and because we have worked together to save her life, she may feel that she owes _us_! Trying to sort out and decide who actually owes what to who… should be a discussion for another time. For now, you should know that I am honored to have met you R'ka-thwei. I only wish that it had occurred under better circumstances."

"I could wish the same. After more than four and a half years of being alone, I am suddenly faced with the company of two individuals who are neither trying to kill me or attempting to hunt me down for some other use. I will say that it is a very welcome, but very strange feeling to be able to have someone to talk with." R'ka said honestly.

"I can understand the feeling of strangeness." Kwei said softly. "Many times, I've been told how those of your kind would hunt or kill mine at every opportunity, and yet you aren't trying to kill me for a trophy; so it seems that we have another thing in common besides being stranded on this world."

"Yes… we have _much_ in common." R'ka said bitterly. "We are both stuck on this world, and we were both captured by the same group of hunters."

"After which we were both _freed_ by the same ooman. So now, the three of us are in the same cave after having shared an excellent meal that you prepared, and both of us are hoping to find a translation program in my ship's computer. We are both exhausted from being held prisoner, and we are both in need of rest." Kwei told her casually.

"I will say it again. You have the advantage in size and strength. You also know this world well, so that experience and knowledge can be of use. Though I am not one of the greatest Warriors in my Clan, I am still well experienced in combat. Two blades working together are greater than one. Where either of us might be difficult to defeat, the two of us working together would be more difficult still." Kwei reasoned.

"Then, there is the ooman female. Whoever brought her here must have done so because she is a warrior of some skill. Dismissing her as a threat simply because of her small size would be a grievous mistake. The four males who had captured us are dead because of her actions. If we can learn to communicate with her, and if we can convince her to agree, then we might be able to add a third warrior to our small number." Kwei said softly. "I will admit that we'll be casting our spear a great distance, but if it flies true…"

"We might become a force that won't be bothered!" R'ka said as she grasped the implications.

"Exactly. I am no god to know what our future holds, but we have a much better chance at victory if we are together rather than alone." Kwei stated approvingly.

"Since we _don't_ know what tomorrow will hold for us, I suggest that we get some rest and sleep so we can face the day with our strength replenished. For some reason, I suspect that we'll need it." Kwei pointed out.

R'ka simply nodded her head while grabbing another chunk of roasted Slime Beast before laying down by the fire. She did her best to relax while munching slowly on the piece of meat, but found that it wasn't as easy as it had previously been during her exile to this world. Doubts, misgivings, and even several hopes flowed through her mind as she lay there. She finished eating long before she finally drifted off.

Jennifer slowly roused from slumber to a feeling of being nestled in what just had to be the most comfortable and _luxurious_ bed she'd ever slept in. Thick, soft, and silky fur was sensuously engulfing her entire body, and it felt incredible. She opened her eyes and saw that she was in a cave and snuggled securely in nice warm fur covered hides. Turning her head slightly, she saw the huge alien named R'ka stretched out in front of the fire sound asleep.

Jen closed her eyes and tried to still the torrent of emotions that welled in her mind. No matter how much she might wish otherwise… it had _not_ been a dream! She was really stuck on an alien planet with a pair of aliens that she couldn't really communicate with. She took a deep breath and let it out in a long silent sigh as her extensive training suddenly kicked in.

'_Okay Marine… this mission just got F.U.B.A.R., so you're going to have to make the best of things. First things first… establish a base of operations. Check. This cave should work fine for now. Second… I.D. allies and hostiles… Check. R'ka and her friend are allies, so watch them for the clues… anything, and everything else will be terminated with extreme prejudice! Third… weapons… that's going to be a problem because my ammunition isn't going to last forever, and if that big ass bow is any indication, then I've got the only long range weapons available. That means I'll have to be conservative with my ammo until I can come up with something else. That bow was definitely hand made, and not a factory version, so it might be possible to get my hands on one. Just wish I had gotten some more lessons from Gramps at using one.'_ Jennifer thought as her mind began to process the grim reality of her situation.

Knowing that R'ka was still asleep, she figured that the alien woman needed a good rest. _'There's no telling how many times she was already raped before I put a stop to it. I just wish I'd gotten there before they could do it the first time! Whatever the case, she's safe from them. Now, I guess I'll have to make sure she stays that way, and somehow… I don't think that's going to be as easy as it sounds.'_

Jennifer moved as quietly as she could while she sat up. She drug the top fur with her and placed part of it behind her as she leaned against a wall of the cave. A quick look at the two aliens told her that both of them appeared to still be asleep. She knew that one had been severely beaten while the other raped, and neither one of them needed to be awakened by her actions, so she sat quietly and let her thoughts drift while looking around the cave.

The instant she awoke, R'ka knew that something had changed in her immediate surroundings. Opening her eyes just a crack showed her that the ooman female was awake. She watched in silence as the female stayed where she was for a while, before moving to sit against a wall of her cave. It was easy to see that the female was at least attempting to avoid disturbing either her or the Yautja still sleeping near the entrance, but R'ka had learned to be an _extremely_ light sleeper. Four years of being pursued and hunted both day and night, had taught her the hard way that _anything_ could happen while she was asleep, and to instantly awaken at the slightest change. She nearly snorted disgustedly when she realized that she'd been woken up by the change in the female's breathing patterns. Realizing that she'd never be able to get back to sleep as long as the ooman was awake, she sat up and stretched.

"Morning, _R'ka_." Jen said as she nodded her head in greeting as the alien started stretching.

"Gkaun-yte, _Jen_." R'ka replied, not certain what the female had said, but convinced from the way it was used that a greeting of some kind had been made.

"God, what I wouldn't give for a hot mug of coffee right now. Straight up and strong enough to peel the rust off the Titanic; black and powerful; just like my .44… now _that's_ the way to start a morning!" Jennifer lamented ruefully.

R'ka didn't have a single clue as to what the female had just said, but she was almost sure of some longing in the tone. _'She must be wishing she had something from her world… perhaps even an ooman mate that she might have. Without being able to understand her, there's no guessing what she might be wishing for.'_

Moving over to the fireplace, R'ka stirred up the coals and added some wood to build it back up. Once the fire was going strongly, R'ka retrieved a container of meat that had been dried and pulverized into a powder. She added some of that powder to a larger container of water and mixed the two thoroughly. Then she placed the mixture in a pouch of skin and put it over the fire to begin heating. She reached into the smoke channel of her cave, and retrieved a chunk of meat to be cooked for the morning meal.

Jennifer remained silent as she leaned against the side of the cave and watched R'ka cook what was obviously meant to be breakfast. She couldn't help but wonder how the near future was going to turn out. She was now on an alien planet, with a pair of aliens, and knew that it was going to be tough to learn their language so she could communicate with them.

'_At least the other one speaks some English; so that will be a help.'_ Jennifer thought wryly as she watched R'ka start breakfast.

Kwei sat up almost as soon as he'd awakened. His recent experience had taught him the hard way that this wasn't a world where one could relax for even an instant. A quick glance around, showed him that he was still in the cave that the Black Yautja named R'ka-thwei called home. He saw R'ka cooking the morning meal, while the female ooman was sitting against the wall on the other side of the cave. He moved to sit near the fire, and looked over at the ooman who was now watching him.

"Kwei-kv'var-de." He said to the ooman female while pointing to himself.

"Okay there is no way in _hell_ that I'll be able to say that mouthful, but I'll give it a shot." Jennifer answered with a shake of her head.

"You might want to try giving her a short version of your name, and she will likely do the same with hers. Believe me… her true name is almost impossible to pronounce, and it will make your head hurt to even _think_ about saying it." R'ka suggested as she kept a close watch on the food.

Taking the Black Yautja up on her suggestion, Kwei-Kv'var-de gave the ooman female the first part of his name. Even then, it took several long moments, and many attempts for her to manage saying his name without mangling it almost beyond recognition.

When the ooman female told him her name in exchange, Kwei's eyes nearly bulged from his head, while his mandibles and jaw dropped in amazement. He stayed that way for several heart beats until he realized that he was hearing laughter. Looking over at the source, he saw R'ka laughing heartily while shaking her head at him.

"I told you her name was difficult." R'ka said still chuckling.

"You said '_almost_ impossible'… you didn't say that it _was_ impossible!" Kwei complained sourly.

That was when he heard the ooman speak again, and this time it was two very short words that he could say with no problems. He looked over at her while repeating the words, and saw her bare her teeth at him while nodding her head.

"_Those_ are the names she taught me last night. The first is a shortened version of the first part of her name, while the second is a strange mix of the first sounds in all of the words in her name." R'ka explained quickly.

"I understand… and I _think_ that she's baring her teeth in an expression of friendship. Although I'm not entirely certain of it. You are right about one thing though, there's no scent of hostility from her. Certainly not like yesterday; then I caught a whiff of _very_ strong hostility from her, but that was when she was engaging the bad-bloods who were holding us captive." Kwei said as he considered the ooman female's actions.

"It was _only_ that strange lack of anger or hostility in her scent that prevented me from attacking her; so I will trust in what you say, but I still find her show of teeth disturbing to say the least." R'ka answered as she continued preparing a thick broth, along with several smaller pieces of meat.

After eating a rather strange breakfast, Jennifer watched the two aliens begin to don some type of body armor, along with an assortment of bladed weapons. She figured out real fast that they were going to make some kind of trip to go somewhere, and she wasn't _about_ to let them go alone!

She began going over the few weapons that she had in her possession. Satisfied that both of her weapons were in functioning order, she quickly put on her weapon harness, and attached the grenades. She knew that she only had five left after using an H.E. on that one joker, but the two flash bangs, two fragmentation, and one high explosive grenade that she had left would help even some odds. She only had four clips left for the MP-5, along with whatever was still in it, _but_ she had six full clips of armor piercing rounds plus a full load already in her .44!

Jennifer felt like a 'no fashion sense' idiot putting on socks and combat boots to go along with the leather bikini and loin cloth she was wearing, but she didn't have anything else, so she went with it. The belt only made the feeling worse as she checked the canteen, and added water from the skin that had been furnished by R'ka. The pouches of the combat belt were laden with a few necessities. A small bottle of extra strength Tylenol packed with extra cotton to prevent the pills from rattling, a compass, a compact flashlight, and something she'd completely forgotten about… the small radio for communications with her base of operations for the mission. She looked at it, and quickly dismissed it, because while it hadn't been turned on, she had no idea how to use it for communications with either of the aliens. She put the radio off to the side, and donned her head wrap to keep her hair out of her eyes. She finished stowing away her spare ammo clips, and satisfied that she was as ready as she could get, turned to face the two aliens.

R'ka watched with interest as the ooman female made her preparations. She knew exactly what Jen was doing. She knew that checking over one's weapons before entering any type of potentially hostile situation was a sign of either quality training, or plenty of experience in combat. She was rather certain that Jen had received both, because of the way she'd killed the four bad blood males the day prior. Not once had Jen ever hesitated in the slightest because of fear, inexperience, or indecisiveness; instead each of her actions had been made as quickly as if they'd been planned in advance. Then, for the ooman to fight against unconsciousness and even her own death the way she'd done, demonstrated a form of self discipline that could only come from excellent training. The idea of the ooman having experience was born out by the fact that the ooman hadn't been told to equip herself, but the small female was rapidly doing just that after having checked her equipment simply because she and the Yautja male were also doing so.

"Do you want to carry the awu'asa of the dead males, or should I?" Kwei asked casually.

"I will carry that, but I would ask that you carry the ooman's awu'asa that I damaged while tending to our friend. I'm hopeful that it can be repaired enough to be functional." R'ka answered after a bit of thought.

"If it can't, then we can begin resizing the mesh and armor of the dead males to replace what was damaged. That will need to be resized for her anyway, since she can't use it as it is." Kwei replied while clearly thinking about something.

"I need to provide you with the location and frequency of my ship, since you'll be burdened with the ooman female and therefore unable to cloak. You will likely be the faster of the two of us, so if we happen upon an enemy lurking out there, you and the ooman would be at a severe disadvantage. Being able to cloak, I can remain somewhat behind you and provide a second front for any enemy foolish enough to try something." Kwei said while tapping some controls on his wrist computer.

"Just how will you know who is an enemy, and who is not?" R'ka asked suspiciously.

"It has been clearly demonstrated that the only allies I have, are with me in this cavern. All others will be killed as quickly as possible." Kwei answered with a grin.


End file.
